Jury
dr hab. Bartlomiej Kominek
Mark Sole-Leris
Born in 1962,British pianist graduated with honours from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome before obtaining post graduate diplomas in the Ecole Normale Supérieur in Paris and the Chigiana Academy in Siena.
His teachers were F. Medori, C. Helffer, G. Mounier and M. Campanella.
After having taught for 26 years at the Conservatoire de Musique Departmental des Alpes-Maritimes in Nice, Mark SOLE-LERIS occupies since 2013 the post of Professor of Piano at the prestigious Académie de Musique Rainier III of Montecarlo. He also pursues numerous educational activities in France and Europe including Master Classes at the Foundation Sophia Antipolis, Summer Academies in Valberg and St Etienne de Tinée and invitations as teacher and adjudicator in major conservatories in France such as Cannes, Lyon and Marseille. He is also invited on the juries of International competitions such as Cafa Righetti in Cortemilia, Euterpe in Corato, Città di Moncalieri near Turin, and with F. Chauvel is founder and Director of the International piano 4 hand Competition in Valberg (France) which takes place in Montecarlo since 2013.
His career as a soloist and chamber-music player have taken him across Europe and the U.S.A in halls such as the Purcell Room in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salles Apollon and Athena at the Acropolis in Nice, Salle Cortot in Paris, Foro Italico in Rome , Composers Hall in Moscow, Philharmonic Hall Satu Mare, Main Hall of the Romanian National Radio Bucharest, Hall of Composers in Kiev, Ukraine etc …) and USA (Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts), as well as recordings for radio and television ( RAI, Radio Vaticana, NOS Dutch, Romanian National Radio, and USA’s WWL-TV, HTV … etc.).
His chamber music partners include E. Borok (Concertmaster Dallas Symphony)A. Morosanu (solo cello Romanian Radio Bucharest), the cellist Guido Schieffen (prize winner in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow) and the pianist F. Chauvel with whom, as a piano 4hand duo, he won a special prize in the final of the 8th edition of the Grieg Concours in Oslo and 2nd prize as part of the U.N.P.Q. in the International “Backchiev” competition in Vologda (Russia).
Mark Solé-Leris has also collaborated with conductors such as P. Bender, A. Melchiorre, K. Weise, S. Streatfeild and C. Brancusi. He is member of the 2 piano 8 hand ensemble the United Nations Piano Quartet since 2006.
Davide Tura
Davide Tura (1986) works as a pianist, composer and conductor.
He plays in the Piano Duo with the Maestro Francesca Cesaretti.
He is founder and director of the Virgilio Ensemble and of the Einstein YouthOrcheStar, artistic director of the Suono DiVino music festival in Sogliano al Rubicone.
In 2013 he attended the Piano Master at Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest and at “A.Boito” Conservatory of Music in Parma with Maestro Gabor Eckhardt, Klara Kormendi and Roberto Cappello.
In 2015 Davide attended the Degree in Chamber Music at the Conservatory “A. Boito” of Parma with Maestro Maurizzi.
He performes as a solo pianist in various international locations: Budapest, Vanesborg (Goteborg), Pontoise (Paris), Strasbourg, Oslip (Wien); as a busker in Stuggard, Mainz, Berlin, Munich. Nationwide always receiving high appreciation: for the cities of Napoli, Milano, Brescia, Alessandria, Bari, Rimini, Pesaro, Florence, Rome, Chieti, Aquila, Varese, Treviso.
His repertoire is comprised of both classic and modern composers and also his compositions.
He plays in the Piano Duo with the Maestro Francesca Cesaretti and in Duo with the French Violinist Caroline Drouin.
As a Composer, his septet “Fragments” was played by National Austrian Radio ORF and also in the Venice’s Theatre “La Fenice”. His music is the soundtracks for spots, short movies and silent films.
In October 2020 a new CD is released for the Amadeus Arte label entitled S (ottrazioni) composed of original music for Piano Solo.
He is the Coordinator for the A. Einstein Liceum Musical Department in Rimini.
dr hab. Katarzyna Ewa Sokołowska
Pianists, chamber musician, teacher and a coordinator of artistic, didactic and scholarly events.
She has graduated from the FCUM in Warsaw from the piano class of J Ekier and A. Paleta-Bugaj and the chamber music class of M. Nosowska.
In the field of chamber music, she graduated with honours from the postgraduate and concert studies (Konzertexam) in the piano duo class of H.P. Stenzl and V. Stenzl at the Rostock University of Music and Drama (Germany). In addition, she was awarded a master’s degree at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Opole.
For over 20 years, together with Agnieszka Kozło, she has been forming one of the leading Polish piano duos – Ravel Piano Duo, which has been awarded many prizes while performing in Poland, Europe and Asia. The pair’s extensive repertoire includes compositions for four hands and two pianos from the baroque period to the present day. The duo has had many world premieres and several CD releases.
For several years, the pianists’ activity has been focused on Polish duo repertoire, its research, editing, performance and recording. As part of this activity, an original CD anthology is being created entitled “Polish Kaleidoscope.” In 2020, the artists made the first complete recording of the works for four hands by Zygmunt Noskowski.
The pianist combines her concert performing activity with didactic work, teaching piano and chamber music at the F. Chopin Music Schools in Warsaw. She is invited to sit on the juries of Polish and foreign competitions and lectures at numerous courses in musical interpretation. Her students are laureates of prizes and distinctions. In 2008–2010 she cooperated with the Piano Department of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Currently, she is employed as an assistant professor at the Department of Piano and String Chamber Music and at the Vocal and Acting Department of her Alma Mater.
For many years she has been associated with the Jerzy Heller Society of International Music Courses, acting as the Vice President of the Management Board and dealing with the organisational and substantive coordination of the International Music Course in Opole.
Emilia Sitarz (Emilia Karolina Sitarz)
dr hab. Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz, prof. AMKP
Music theorist, professor of the Academy of Music in Kraków, head at the Department of Theory and Interpretation of Musical Work, a member of the section of musicologists Polish Composers’ Union, a member of the editorial board of the journal “Theory of Music”.
She graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Krakow. In her scientific pursuits she focuses on contemporary Polish and Lithuanian output and especially music of Karol Szymanowski.
She has participated in international conferences in Vilnius, Aarhus, London, Leuven, Leipzig, Zurich, Canterbury, Paris and in her home city of Kraków.
She published books: Vytautas Bacevićius i jego idee muzyki kosmicznej (‘Vytautas Bacevićius and his ideas of cosmic music’, 2001) and Poetyka muzyczna Karola Szymanowskiego. Studia i interpretacje (‘Poetics of Karol Szymanowski’s music. Studies and interpretations’, 2013) and articles in Polish and foreign group publications.
She is an artistic director of the “Wawel Royal Castle at Dusk” music festival.
She received, among others, “Honoris gratia” badge (2009) and awarded the “Excellence in Teaching” (2012).
In 2013, she also became a programme curator of Karol Szymanowski’s Museum at Villa Atma in Zakopane – Branch of the National Museum in Krakow.
Jan Popis
Musicologist, music critic, producer and publisher of CDs with classical music, music popularizer. One of the most prominent experts in the music of Fryderyk Chopin. He studied musicology at the Warsaw University.
Specializes in the field of piano music.
He worked in the Polish Radio, in editorial offices or departments of classical music, where he ran his own programs, including the famous “Chopin Wednesdays”. Since 1975, he has been commenting on the Polish Radio and TVP International Chopin Piano Competitions.
He created a record company.
Several dozen CDs of which were nominated, and several dozen received the FRYDERYK statuette and the Totus Tuus award.
In 1998 he started working with Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra, which he founded. For over 10 years, he has been working as an advisor with Rafał Blechacz. He is the artistic and program director of the MUZA Polish Recordings label.
For his activities, he received, among others award – medal of the Association of Polish Musicians for the Music Critic of the Year, Gloria Artis medal, Pro Sinfonika medal and Pro Arte medal Ignacy Jan Paderewski.