10th GOCAA New York International Music Competition Finals Opening Gala

Program: 

Trois morceaux pour piano by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) 

JingCi Liu, Piano 

Selected movements from Fantasiestucke Op.12 by Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Wenting Yu, Piano 

Piano Sonata No.2 in F# Minor, Op.2, I. by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

JingCi Liu, Piano 

Piano Sonata No.3 in F Minor, Op.5, V. by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Wenting Yu, Piano

 Intermission

Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) 

Wenting Yu, Piano 

Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Arr. Piano Four Hands by Brahms, 

Wenting Yu & JingCi Liu, Piano Four Hands

Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op.27 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Arr. Piano Four Hands by Wladimir WilschauIV. Allegro vivace,

JingCi Liu & Wenting Yu, Piano Four Hands

About the Artists:

JingCi Liu  

https://liujingcipiano.com

Pianist JingCi Liu, a native of Tianjin, China, Recently, she won the Second Prize and the Special Award-Best Romantic Performance at the Spotlight International Piano competition. In 2020-2021, she received top prizes in the New York Classical International Music Competition, Medici International Music Competition, Global Outstanding Chinese Artist International Piano Competition, WPTA Finland International Piano Competition, and William Knabe International Piano Competition. Also, she was awarded one of seven National Outstanding Artists Awards at the American Music Open Competition in California.

Ms. Liu has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician at the 2020- 2023 UConn Piano Day Master Class and Concert Series, curated by Dr. Angelina Gadeliya at the University of Connecticut. She is a GOCAA Artist and co-executive director of the Global Outstanding Chinese Artist Association Solo Recitals series. She presented a piano solo and duo concert at the opening concert of the 2022 GOCAA Artist Concert Tours and was highly appraised for her "compelling, sensitive, and energetic" playing by New York Concert Review. In 2020, Ms. Liu was selected as one of the eight promising featured pianists for the Conservatoire américain de Fontainebleau in France. Over the seasons, Ms. Liu has performed throughout prestigious venues in New York City as a featured pianist at the Mannes Sounds Festival. Including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Steinway Hall, The Frick Collection, National Opera Center, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York, the German Consulate General in New York, the Bohemian National Hall, the Metropolitan Club, House of Redeemer in New York City and many others.

Ms. Liu holds both a Professional Studies Diploma and a Master of Music Degree from the Mannes School of Music of The New School, where she was under the guidance of Pavlina Dokovska and Vladimir Valjarevic. Upon her graduation from Mannes, she received the Steinway Award from the Piano Department and Steinway & Sons New York which is given to an outstanding pianist.

Ms. Liu is pursuing a DMA degree in piano performance at the University of Connecticut, studying with Dr. Angelina Gadeliya. She receives a Full Scholarship and serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. From 2020-2022, she received grants from the Evelyn Bonar Storrs Scholarship Fund of the Musical Club of Hartford, Connecticut. Ms. Liu has been appointed as one of the guest artists and youth piano juries at the 1st Manhaville International Piano Competition and Festival in New York, in which she presented virtual lectures and concerts about "The Art of Collaboration in Piano Duo" with her husband Mr. Wenting Yu.  She has been an international jury at Music Star Award International Music Competition in Europe since 2020. Her first solo album features seven female composers through the last two centuries, which includes many important and rarely heard works from Marianna von Martinez, Cecile Chaminade, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, Lili/Nadia Boulanger, and Caroline Shaw.

Wenting Yu  

https://wentingyu.com/about

Mr. Yu is currently a candidate for his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, under the studio with Prof. Vladimir Valjarevic as a full-scholarship and doctoral teaching fellowship recipient. In May 2019, Mr. Yu graduated from Mannes School of Music of The New School with a full scholarship, where he obtained his Master of Music Degree under the tutelage of Prof. Pavlina Dokovska. Upon his graduation from Mannes, Mr. Yu has been selected to be the 2019 recipient of the Steinway & Sons Award, given to an outstanding artist in the graduate program.

As a dedicated soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue, pianist Wenting Yu has won numerous First Prizes worldwide, including the “2019 International Keyboard Institute and Festival Competition” in New York City, the “2020 WPTA Finland International Piano Competition for Solo and Piano Duo Divisions”, the “2021 GOCAA International Piano Competition”, the “2018 Golden Classical Music Award International Competition” in New York City, the “2020 Rutgers University Mason Gross Concerto Competition”, the Ravel Prize & Robert Casadesus Grand Award at the “2018 Fontainebleau Festival” in France, the “2018 Mannes School of Music Piano Concerto Competition”, National Champion at the “Fifth China National Piano Competition” in Xiamen, China, etc.

Mr. Yu has also achieved prizes including the “2020 Concerto Competition of Busan Maru International Music Festival” in Busan, South Korea, “2019 Steinway Award for Outstanding Pianist” from Mannes and the Steinway & Sons Company NYC; the “2018 Ravel Grand Prize” awarded by the Foundation of Maurice Ravel and Écoles d'Art Américaines de Fontainebleau in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France; the Winner of a recipient of “Music Teachers National Association Competition Steinway 2016-2017 Annual Young Artist Award”; the Third Prize Winner at the 9th Metropolitan International Piano Competition at DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City; Third Prize Winner of 2019 Gershwin International Piano Competition; Third Prize at the “Liszt International Piano Competition for Young Pianists” in Moscow, Russia and many others.

Mr. Yu is currently a candidate of his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, studying with Prof. Vladimir Valjarevic as a full-scholarship and doctoral teaching assistantship recipient. In May 2019, Mr. Yu graduated from the prestigious Mannes School of Music of The New School with the full-scholarship where he obtained his Master of Music Degree and under the tutelage of the chair of the piano department, Prof. Pavlina Dokovska. Since his graduation from Mannes, Mr. Yu has been selected to be the 2019 recipient of the Steinway & Sons Award, given to an outstanding pianist enrolled in a graduate program. A native of Shenyang, China, Mr. Yu was born into a family of musicians, he graduated from the Pre-College of Shenyang Conservatory of Music in China where he received his advanced music education under the direction of Prof. Danwen Wei, he then came to the United States to study with Prof. Jerome Lowenthal at The Juilliard School.

In the season of 2020 - 2021, Mr. Yu had made his two concerto debuts with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra on the extraordinary Piano Concerto No.2 in F Minor by Chopin at Rutgers University’s Nicolas Center for the Performing Arts in New Brunswick, NJ. and collaborating with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra on Brahms’ enormous Piano Concerto No.1 in D Minor as part of the 2020 Busan Maru International Music Festival Series at Busan Cultural Center, South Korea. In 2021, after three intensely and highly competitive rounds in nearly one year’s contest, Mr. Yu has successfully entered the final stage of the prestigious and respected 67th Washington International Piano Competition and has been selected as one of the top six finalists from over 200 contestants worldwide.

In the year of 2018, Mr. Yu was accepted by one of the most prestigious and competitive classical music festivals in the world----The Ecole d'Art Americaines de Fontainebleau in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France, only eight pianists have been selected from worldwide along with the full-scholarship at the Fontainebleau Festival Concert Series. Under this extremely intensive program of the festival, Wenting Yu successfully made his European solo and chamber music debuts at this historical venue of the Castle of Fontainebleau as a featured concert artist. During his stay in France, Mr. Yu has been awarded the “Ravel Prize” of “2018 Competition of Maurice Ravel” by Maurice Ravel Foundation in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France. At the same time, Mr. Yu was the only recipient of “Robert Casadesus Grand Award” for his achievement in 2018 Fontainebleau Festival which awarded by Fontainebleau Associations in 2018.

This year, Mr. Yu will be producing his first CD Album, this project was commissioned by the Fontainebleau Associations and will be released by a distinguished label for classical music, KNS Classical. In general, this CD project will feature many extraordinary musical creations by Robert Casadesus which were carefully selected from his piano solo works. This CD will also contain exquisite piano selections from Couperin, Rameau, Faure, Debussy, and Ravel in pair with Robert Casadesus’ music together as a part the dazzling heritage of the golden age of the French School in Western Music History. This CD will certainly launch further explorations on how distinctive styles inspired each other and co-exist or co-evolve together in the past century.