International Anton Rubinstein Competition 2023 - PIANO

Italian pianist Gabriele Leporatti actively performs throughout Europe, US and China appearing in many prestigious venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, NDR Hannover, He Luting Hall Shanghai and in festivals such as the Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Festival de Torroella de Montgrí, International Keyboard Institute & Festival New York, Tbilisi Piano Fest;  2016 marks his debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Thomas Søndergård.  Gabriele´s schedule in the 2021/22 season includes orchestral appearances with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana as well as solo and chamber music concerts in Europe and abroad.

A keen chamber musician, he has been concertizing with ensembles such as the Trio Suleika and with a variety of internationally renowned soloists; moreover, he regularly appears in duo with his wife Gesa Lücker.  Several of his performances have been broadcasted on radio and television including BBC Radio 3 (UK), SAFm (South Africa), BR Klassik, RBB, SWR 2, WDR 3 (Germany), NPO Radio 4, Avrotros (Netherlands), SRF2 (Switzerland), Rai3 (Italy).

In 2015 he founds Etera Classics – a record label with a distinct authorial connotation and a publishing division dedicated to the promotion of young artists – for which he records his latest three commercial albums.  Gabriele´s discography includes both solo and chamber music recordings – a monographic Brahms CD and one featuring piano works by Schumann and Respighi – along with a quatre-mains album with Fabio Bidini (True Sounds) and one with violist Yuri Bondarev.  Spring 2019 sees the release of his latest solo CD titled “Wien”.

Gabriele´s passionate playing style, full of aesthetic, sensibility and depth, shows the influence of his teachers and mentors Maria Tipo, Fabio Bidini and Joaquin Achucarro.

Currently on faculty at the International Music Academy Anton Rubinstein in Dusseldorf, he regularly gives masterclasses and lectures worldwide, with several of his students being prize winners at international piano competitions.  In addition, he is active as an artistic advisor at concert series and festivals and as a jury member in international competitions.

Alla Blatow completed her diplomas as a concert pianist, chamber musician and piano teacher at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. From 1985 to 2000, she was a piano teacher at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen and conducted numerous master classes in Western Europe, Russia and China. Her pedagogy is characterised by the simultaneous teaching of technical perfection and interpretative individuality. She is thus considered an outstanding representative of the legendary St. Petersburg Piano School.

Since 2002 she has been a lecturer for piano and chamber music at the Anton Rubinstein International Music Academy in Düsseldorf.

Huang Xiang, a young pianist in Germany, is now an associate professor of the Piano Department of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, a master’s supervisor, and the deputy director of the main course teaching and research section of the Piano Department. He has won awards in the 4th Golden Bell Award for Chinese Music in 2004, the 3rd International Piano Competition in Shanghai, China, in 2005, the All German Conservatory Piano Competition in 2008, the WDR Youth Soloist Competition of the West German Radio Orchestra in 2009, the R ö srath International Piano Festival Competition in Germany in 2008, and the Prix Amadeo Mozart International Piano Competition in Germany in 2011; He won the semi-final prize and special prize in 2011 Montreal International Piano Competition, 2011 Cologne International Piano Competition and 2007 China International Piano Competition.

Huang Xiang’s recitals are spread all over China, Germany, Poland, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, China and other 10 countries and regions. As a piano soloist, he is often invited to cooperate with professional orchestras at home and abroad, such as the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Xiamen Symphony Orchestra, the Shenyang Symphony Orchestra, the Gwangju Philharmonic Orchestra, the German Ulrich Symphony Orchestra Germany Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Germany Cologne Youth Symphony Orchestra, Germany Berglisch Symphony Orchestra, Poland Tolen Municipal Symphony Orchestra, etc. His performances also appeared on radio and television stations in China, Germany and South Korea, such as CCTV Music (2006), Shanghai Orient Television (2006), German classical music radio WDR3 (2010), Korean KBS TV (2010), etc.

In October 2010, at the invitation of the South Korea International Music Festival, five touring performances were held in South Korea. Later, he was invited by Quanbei National University and Gunsan National University to hold a concert and exchange teaching activities. In 2011, at the invitation of Heidelberg University, a famous German university, a concert was held in Heidelberg Concert Hall and academic exchange activities were held. He played for Consul General of China in Gwangju, South Korea, and Consul General of China in Frankfurt in 2010 and 2012 respectively, and was highly praised. In 2012, he was invited by the Belgian royal family to successfully hold recitals at the Namedy Palace in Germany.

Huang Xiang learned piano from his father when he was young, and then learned from Mr. Wu Leyi, a famous Chinese pianist, and Professor Yao Shizhen, a senior professor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He studied in the Piano Department of Shanghai Conservatory of Music from 2002 to 2006. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, he went to Germany to study. He was admitted to the Master of Piano Performance major of Cologne Conservatory of Music and studied under Professor Nina Tichman (USA/Germany), a world-famous pianist. In 2010, he obtained a master’s degree with full marks, and then passed the Konzertexamen Piano Player Diploma of Cologne Conservatory of Music. In November 2012, he once again obtained the highest solo diploma (doctor) in German music with full professional score, and obtained the diploma of outstanding contribution. In 2013, he returned to China and worked in Gulangyu Piano School of Central Conservatory of Music. He has taught in the Piano Department of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music since 2015, and he is also a visiting professor of the Conservatory of Music of Anhui Normal University in China.

In January 2015, he signed a five-year recording contract with the record company under Shanghai Education First Edition Society, which includes Bach, Debussy, etc. In July 2020, I released my first album in China, Forest of Alps. In 2022, I released my first trio album – Dance in Dream.