Washington International Piano Festival: Faculty

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Leon Fleisher
Nikita Fitenko
Ivo Kaltchev
Liu Chonxiao
Seok-rahn Kwon
Atsuko Okada
Xun Pan
Jose Ramos Santana

Leon Fleisher (masterclass only)

His musicianship is the stuff of legend, and his personal story is as heartbreaking as it is life affirming. Leon Fleisher was well on his way to conquering the music world at 16, singled out as "one of the most gifted of the younger generation of keyboard artists" by Olin Downes in The New York Times and soon hailed quite simply as "the pianistic find of the century" by the great conductor Pierre Monteux. He was cruelly sidelined at the height of his powers by a rare neurological disease that lost him the use of his right hand. Undeterred, while being told by his doctors that he would never play again, he became an inspirational teacher and an inspired conductor, all the while playing-and in fact revitalizing-the left-handed repertory, determined not to be defeated. Fleisher was, as the Times dubbed him, "a pianist for whom never was never an option." He underwent brain surgery, grueling experimental treatments, years of trials that certainly would have discouraged any ordinary mortal. Then, against all odds and baffling medical experts, he returned. "His comeback," wrote Holly Brubach in The New York Times in 2007, "has catapulted him up next to Lance Armstrong as a symbol of the indomitable human spirit and an inspiration to a broader public."

Leon Fleisher was born in San Francisco in 1928. He had his piano debut at the age of eight, began studies with Artur Schnabel at nine, made his San Francisco Symphony debut at 14, then he had his Carnegie Hall debut at 16 playing with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Monteux. He won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Belgium in 1952, became one of the most sought-after soloists and recitalists in the world's finest concert halls, and began a rich series of recordings with, among others, Georg Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra. His landmark version of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms concertos as well as his solo recordings of Schubert and his explorations of the American repertory would become cult classics.

Even before the loss of his right hand in 1965 forced a radical change in his musical life, Fleisher already had gravitated towards education as well as towards conducting, which he studied with Monteux. As confounder and director of the Kennedy Center's Theater Chamber Players, Fleisher has been an energizing powerhouse behind that most delicate and personal of musical fields. As a conductor, his accomplishments have included tenures as associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony and as music director of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and of the Tanglewood Music Center, as well as enthusiastically received performances with the Baltimore Opera. His associations with the Peabody Conservatory of Music-where he has been on the faculty since 1959-as well as with Curtis Institute of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto have turned Fleisher's generosity of spirit into an exhilarating wave of influence over new generations of pianists, with his students so far including such piano greats as André Watts, Lorin Hollander, Yefin Bronfman, and Louis Lortie. When limited to performing with the left hand alone, Fleisher championed that repertory and created definitive interpretations of Ravel and Britten. He also encouraged and inspired composers to create new works for the left hand, a mission that so far has resulted in what is perhaps the most original American work of that genre: William Bolcom's Concerto for Two Pianos Left Hand, composed for Fleisher and his friend Gary Graffman, who also suffered neurological problems with his right hand. Curtis Curtis-Smith's Concerto for the Left Hand was composed for Fleisher, as have been major works by Lukas Foss and Gunter Schuller.

Fleisher was named "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 1994 by Musical America. He has received honorary doctorates from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Townson State University, the Boston Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Johns Hopkins University gave him its President's Medal. The filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn's short documentary "Two Hands," chronicling Fleisher's heroic journey, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007.

Nikita Fitenko

Internationally acclaimed pianist and Yamaha Artist Nikita Fitenko has performed recitals and with orchestras in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, and South and North America. He has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as St. Petersburg Capella Symphony, Russian Chamber Philharmonic, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow, St. Petersburg State Conservatory Orchestra, State Hermitage Orchestra, Slovak National Philharmonic, Lewisville Symphony, Rapides Symphony, Northeast Texas Symphony, and Northwestern Symphony Orchestra. His future engagements this year besides the concerts in the US will bring him to Italy, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.

While performing a wide and diverse repertoire, Nikita Fitenko is an acknowledged master of Russian piano music. His CDs for Altarus Records of complete piano works by leading contemporary Russian composers Georgy Sviridov (1997) and Sergei Slonimsky (2000) have garnered rave reviews from the international music press. Fanfare Music Review wrote, "Fitenko plays magnificently!" Slonimsky himself described Fitenko's interpretation of his piano music as "outstanding." He also added, "It is very vivid, imaginative, virtuosic, fascinating, and pianistically brilliant." Mr. Fitenko's recording of Scriabin's Piano Concerto with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow was released internationally on Classical Records label in December 2007. His latest recording of works by Bach, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninov for Classical Records will be released this fall.

In addition to solo recitals, Nikita Fitenko performs extensively in piano duo with Katerina Zaitseva. Hailed by critics for their "superlative sound, superlative interpretation, and superlative pianism…", the duo has performed worldwide with most recent appearances at the Madeira Music Festival (Portugal), Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage (Washington, D.C.), Yamaha Hall (NYC), Piano Duo Series (Tokyo, Japan), Nancyphonies Music Festival (France), University of Florida Young Pianists Festival, and Berkeley University (California, USA). Their critically acclaimed CD featuring works for piano four hands by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms has been released internationally by the Classical Records label and is available through Amazon.

Native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Nikita Fitenko graduated from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory with a citation for excellence given to only five other graduates in the last fifty years. After receiving the Anton Rubinstein Memorial Award he came to study to the US pursuing his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of North Texas. His principal teachers included Roman Lebedev, Igor Lebedev, and Joseph Banowetz.

Dr. Fitenko has been invited to serve on many international piano competition juries, including 2011 Chopin International Piano Competition (Hartford, CT), 2010 Scriabin International Piano Competition (Grosetto, Italy), 2009 American Pianists Association's Classical Fellowship Awards (Indianapolis, IN), 2008 Rachmaninov International Piano Competition (Moscow, Russia), 2008 Nordic International Piano Competition (Malmo, Sweden), and 2003 World International Piano Competition (Cincinnati, OH) among others. He has presented master classes at the Verdi Conservatory of Music (Turin, Italy), Hochschule fur Musik (Saarbruken, Germany), Estonian Academy of Music (Tallinn, Estonia), Ettlebruck Conservatory (Luxemburg), Yeonsei, Hanyang, and Suwon Universities (South Korea), Sichuan Conservatory, Jinan University, Xinghai Conservatory, and University of Hangzhou (China), as well as at the 2010 Convention of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association, 2009 Chinese-American International Piano Institute (Chengdu, China), and 2009 University of Florida Young Pianists Festival (Gainesville, FL). Among his students are winners of national and international competitions including National MTNA Competition.

Currently, Dr. Fitenko holds a position of Associate Professor of Piano at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and co-directs the Washington International Piano Festival. Prior to that he was Associate Professor and Coordinator of Keyboard Area at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Mr. Fitenko is the founder and artistic director of the Louisiana International Piano Competition Until 2008 he was also the artistic director of the Louisiana Piano Series International.

Ivo Kaltchev

Prizewinner of international piano competitions and a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, pianist Ivo Kaltchev is enjoying a successful performing career as recitalist, soloist with orchestras, chamber musician and recording artist. "Formidable technique" (Piano Journal, England), "possesses the genius of rubato"(Diapason, France), "superb musicianship" (Phar, Israel), "distinctive and original" (Soviet Culture, Russia), "impressive" (Frankfurter Neue Presse, Germany), "most beautifully and idiomatically played" (International Record Review, England), "glittering," " big technique" (The Washington Post, USA), "his tonal qualities are astounding…first class" (American Record Guide, USA), "fine" (Fanfare, USA), "a master of the whole range of pianistic attacks and coloristic effects" (The Star Ledger, USA) - these are some of the words which music critics have used to describe Mr. Kaltchev's unique artistry.

Dr. Kaltchev has performed in musical centers throughout the world, including Carnegie Weill Concert Hall, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Malii and Rachmaninov Halls, St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Salle Moliere (Lyon, France), Teatro Verdi (Salerno, Italy), Tel Aviv Museum Recanati Auditorium (Israel), Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik Hall (Leipzig, Germany), Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium, the Library of Congress, and the Bulgaria Great Hall.

He has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the world including the Washington International Piano Festival (Washington DC), the European Academy for Music and Arts (Montepulciano, Italy), the Chinese-American International Piano Institute (Changdu, China), the Perugia International Music Festival (Italy), Nancyphonies International Music Festival (France), Mozart International Music Festival (Frankfurt, Germany), the Toledo International Music Festival (Spain), the Sofia Music Weeks International Festival (Bulgaria), the Lincoln Center French Music Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Festival (Czech Republic), the Varna Summer International Festival (Bulgaria), the Rutgers SummerFest (USA), Vivace International Music Festival (USA), and Florida University Young Pianist Festival (USA). Some of the highlights of recent seasons include both a solo recital and a concerto performance with the New York Festival Orchestra (now EOS Orchestra) in Alice Tully Hall, performances of the complete solo piano works of Debussy and the complete songs of Henri Duparc as well as concerts in the U.S., China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Czech Republic and the Virgin Islands. A respected chamber musician, Mr. Kaltchev has collaborated with the New York Metropolitan Opera soloists Sharon Christman, Fabiana Bravo and Patrick Carfizzi; pianist Ilana Vered; Essex Quartet; French actress Marie Christine Barrault as well as members of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. His engagements for the 2010-11 concert season include recitals and master classes in the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico, and China.
Mr. Kaltchev's critically acclaimed commercial recordings on the Bulgarian "Gega New" label include an all-Charles Griffes CD (hailed by the French magazine Diapason as "the most accomplished interpretation known until now") and a CD with the world premieres of solo piano works by the French composer Florent Schmitt. Mr. Kaltchev has been a featured artist for the New York City's WNYC and WQXR Radio Stations, Radio Free Europe (Germany), Radio Moscow, Klara Radio Station (Brussels, Belgium), Bulgarian National TV and Radio, and many others.

Mr. Kaltchev holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University (USA), the Master of Music degree from Yale University (USA), the Bachelor of Music degree from the Sofia State Academy of Music (Bulgaria) and a Diploma from the Franz Liszt Hoscschule fur Musik (Weimar, Germany). His principal teachers include pianists Ilana Vered, Boris Berman, Milena Mollova as well as chamber musicians from the Guarneri and Tokyo String Quartets.

Dr. Kaltchev is a recipient of pedagogy awards for teaching excellence from the Piano Teachers Society of America and the Princeton Steinway Society. He has presented lectures, workshops and master classes at the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, the European Piano Teachers Association Conference, the American College Music Society Conference, the Improving University Teaching International Conference, the Yale University as well as in the United States, Europe, China, Korea and the Virgin Islands. Dr. Kaltchev is an active adjudicator and has judged the following international piano competitions: Maria Clara Cullell International Latin American Piano Competition (Costa Rica), Louisiana International Piano Competition (USA), Vladigerov International Piano Competition (Bulgaria), Jacinto Guerrero Piano Competition (Spain), Florida International Piano Competition (USA), Andorra International Piano Competition, International Young Artist Piano Competition (USA), Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition (USA) and Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition (USA). Mr. Kaltchev's students are prizewinners of more than 20 piano competitions and have performed with numerous orchestras including I Solisti di Perugia (Italy). Dr. Kaltchev is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Bulgarian Music Society Concert Series at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington DC.
Currently, Dr. Kaltchev is Associate Professor of Piano and Chair of the Piano Division at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is also a Visiting Professor at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China and Co-Director of the Washington International Piano Festival in Washington DC. During the Fall 2010 semester, Dr. Kaltchev taught at the Yale University School of Music as a Visiting Professor.

Liu Chonxiao

Chinese pianist Liu Chonxiao is a full-time Piano Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in China. He graduated with honors from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing receiving BM and MM degrees in Piano Performance.
Prof. Liu is enjoying a busy performing career as a solo pianist, chamber musician and recording artist. He has performed in the United States, Germany, France, Bulgaria, and China. He has recorded for Hong Kong Radio 4 and has been a concerto soloist with China Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Beijing Film Orchestra. His students are prizewinners of numerous piano competitions in China.

Seok-rahn Kwon

Seok-rahn Kwon is one of the most outstanding pianists in South Korea. As a solo pianist, she performed in numerous music centers in Europe, USA, Canada, and Korea. She also performed as soloist with such orchestras as Kang-nam Philharmonic Orchestra, Busan Philaharmonic Orchestra, and Korean Symphony Orchestra. Her performance of Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Op.43 with Busan Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2007 Korea Orchestra Festival received critical acclaim: "dazzling and colorful sound, her playing is persuasive and brilliant".

Dr. Kwon won several Competitions including 2007 Korea Orchestral Festival Soloist Audition, New England Conservatory Honor's Audition, Clark University Competition, Texas Steinway Competition, and International Viotti Valsesia Competition. She has served as a jury member of the 2009 International Louisiana Piano Competition.

Dr. Kwon received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from New England Conservatory of Music, Boston and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas with Honors. Currently Dr. Kwon is an Associate professor of Music at Sejong University and also teaches at Seoul National University and Seoul Arts School.

Atsuko Okada

Atsuko Okada was born in Tokyo in 1954. After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Currently - Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1976, she advanced to further graduate studies at the university and earned the Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Western music on the recognition of the recital and thesis on Scriabin. Ever since, she has built a career to become a widely respected pianist and music critic.
Dr. Okada is an internationally acclaimed Japan's premier interpreter of Scriabin's legacy. She has been invited to various festivals and conferences, including the music festival on Scriabin's 125th birth anniversary (Moscow, 1997) and the 2nd International Congress commemorating Chopin's 150th death anniversary (Warsaw, 1999), during which she held recitals and delivered lectures. Dr Okada's portfolio as a researcher/writer/editor includes such desired items as 'Scriabin, the Complete Works for Piano' (Shunju-sha, Tokyo) and "A moment is of itself eternity" - pianism at the end of the century" (Sakuhin-sha, Tokyo), a collection of own critical essays.
At present, Dr Okada is a professor at Tokyo College of Music, a part-time professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, and a councilor of the Japan Piano Teachers Association. Previously, she was a research fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and an associate professor at Kyoto City University of Art. Dr Okada is very much in demand as a regular guest faculty at various masterclasses (France, Korea, Japan: from Hokkaido to Okinawa) and as a juror at international competitions, including the 2007 Ciurlionis International Piano Competition (Vilnius).

Xun Pan

Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan received his early musical training from his grandmother and pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Syracuse University in New York, and earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Mr. Pan has won many international piano competitions and awards, beginning with first prize in the 1986 China National Piano Competition in Beijing, and the "Dr. Luis Sigall" International Piano Competition in Chile in 1987, the International Festival Piano Competition in Korea in 1990, the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition in New York in 1992, and the Artists International Competition in New York in 1993. A student of Theodore Lettvin, Mr. Pan has performed solo recitals worldwide from Carnegie Weill Hall to the Beijing National Center for Performing Arts. He has performed in Moscow, Santiago, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Pyong-Yang, London, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Taipei, Budapest, New York, Vina Del Mar, Lisbon, Toronto, Boston, and many other cities in the world. He "…excites his audience with extraordinary power and masterful technique." (Intelligencer Journal)

A noted chamber musician, Mr. Pan is the pianist of the Newstead Trio and Trio Clavino, two of the most distinguished piano trios in North America. Their work has been broadcast live on radio and television, and they have released several highly acclaimed recordings.

Mr. Pan is a visiting professor at China Conservatory of Music, China Northwest University for Nationalities, Fuzhou University, Yantai University, Shandong University, Qinghai Normal University, and at Wenzhou University.

Jose Ramos Santana

A native of Puerto Rico, Jose Ramos Santana is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation. He performs a wide and diverse repertoire while being an acknowledged master of Spanish Music. Mr. Ramos Santana has appeared as a guest soloist with such major orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Detroit Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, 92nd Street Y Orchestra, The New York Virtuosi, Casals Festival Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony, and the orchestras of New Mexico, Sioux City, Utah, Syracuse among many others. Additional solo performances include the Moscow Philharmonic Latin-American tour, Orchestra of L'Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and has collaborated with distinguished musicians and conductors such as Krzsztoff Penderecki, John Adams, Dennis Russell Davies, Jerzy Semkow, Dimitri Kitaenko, Joseph Silverstein, cellist Arto Noras, violinist Gregory Zhislin, and pianist Vladimir Viardo.

Jose Ramos Santana's much lauded guest appearance with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall during the Sonidos de las Americas Festival was described by critic Allan Kozinn of The New York Times as " powerful…Mr. Ramos Santana played with virtuosity and precision". This event marked his third Carnegie Hall performance in one year. A top prize winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, he has performed extensively in the United States, Latin America, Europe and the Far East. He has appeared in music festivals such as Spoleto, Caramoor, Casals Festival, Grant Park Festival in Chicago, Festival de Musica Contemporanea in El Salvador, and Festival Bravissimo in Guatemala as a soloist with the Guatemala Symphony Orchestra.

As a recitalist, Mr. Ramos Santana has performed at The Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Radio Svizzera Italiana in Lugano Switzerland, Bösendofer Hall in Osaka, Japan, Cherbourg's 50th Anniversary of the American Invasion in France, Center for the Arts in Hong Kong, China and at the 25th Annivesary of Musica de Camara Series at Merkin Hall in 2004. A frequent performer on radio and television, he has been featured in documentaries including the 1986 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition on the PBS network, "Casals Festival 1995" on the Arts and Entertainment Channel and on "CBS Sunday Morning". In 1989 he was selected from over one hundred pianists to participate in the prestigious Xerox Affiliate Artist Program.

Mr. Ramos Santana is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with Adele Marcus, William Masselos and Sylvia Rabinof. He has also coached with Leon Fleisher and Alicia de Larrocha. Jose Ramos Santana's recently released world premiere recording of "Glosas" by Roberto Sierra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, has been described by the Hong Kong Hi Fi Review magazine as "Jose Ramos Santana who established his career as an interpreter of Spanish Music is indeed extraordinary in his performance, which excites our desire to repeat this auditory experience". Other works included in this CD are Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Saint- Saens Piano Concerto in g minor op. 22, on the Fleur de Son Label. During the summers Mr. Ramos Santana is an artist faculty member of the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at Mannes College in New York City and Washington International Piano Festival in Washington, DC.