Laureates & Prizewinners

Laureate

Nicolas Namoradze, Honens Prize Laureate

“Set to become one of he truly important artists of his generation.”—Emanuel Ax

Pianist and composer Nicolas Namoradze, has been hailed by critics as “sparkling … sensitive and coloristic” (New York Times) and “simply gorgeous” (Wall Street Journal).
See more on Namoradze’s page

Prizewinners

Finalists
Han Chen
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner

Audience Award
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner

Laureate

Luca Buratto, Honens Prize Laureate

Following 2015 Honens Prize Laureate Luca Buratto’s Wigmore Hall debut recital in London in January 2017 The Guardian wrote: “Graceful, analytical, meticulous, Buratto is a name to watch”.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Prizewinners

Finalists
Henry Kramer
Artem Yasynskyy

Laureate

Pavel Kolesnikov, Honens Prize Laureate

Following Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov’s Wigmore Hall debut in January 2014, The Telegraph gave his recital a rare five-star review and called it “one of the most memorable of such occasions London has witnessed in a while.” Since becoming Prize Laureate of the Honens Prize for Piano in 2012, Kolesnikov has been winning hearts around the world.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Prizewinners

Finalists
Lorenzo Cossi
Jong Hai Park
Maria Mazo
Eric Zuber

Raeburn Prize for Artist of Special Promise
Zenan Yu

Laureates

Georgy Tchaidze, Honens Prize Laureate

Georgy Tchaidze possesses “fine sensibility and perfectly honed technique” according to The Telegraph in its review of the Russian pianist’s Wigmore Hall debut. Since becoming Honens Prize Laureate in 2009, Georgy has performed throughout Europe and North America to great acclaim, including debuts at Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York.
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Evgeny Starodubtsev, Laureate

The New York Times calls Russian pianist Evgeny Starodubtsev “an accomplished and probing artist” in a glowing review of his first recording on the Honens Label, while The New Yorker includes this disc on its list of top classical recordings of 2011. Starodubtsev was named Laureate of Canada’s Honens International Piano Competition in 2009, and won Lithuania’s Ciurlionis Competition in 2011.
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Gilles Vonsattel, Laureate

Swiss-born American pianist Gilles Vonsattel is an artist of uncommon breadth with a repertory that ranges from J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue to the complete works of Xenakis. He is Laureate of the 2009 Honens International Piano Competition, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva Competitions. He made his Alice Tully Hall recital debut in 2002 and has appeared with esteemed orchestras including the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, the San Francisco Symphony, the Warsaw Philharmonic and l’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Prizewinners

Finalists
Natacha Kudritskaya
Kiril Zwegintsov

Best Ensemble Performance
Tom Poster

Best Performance of Commissioned Work
Gilles Vonsattel

Raeburn Prize for Artist of Special Promise
Michael Brown

Laureates

Minsoo Sohn, Honens Prize Laureate

Minsoo Sohn’s poetic vision and musical intelligence continue to garner praise from critics and audiences alike for his masterful virtuosity and deep musicianship. The New York Times called his Honens-label CD of Bach’s Goldberg Variations a “beautifully articulated, radiant interpretation” and named it one of the top classical recordings of 2011.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Hinrich Alpers, Laureate

Hinrich Alpers talks with his fingers, believing “Music is one of the most direct and powerful ways of communicating and listeners depend on honest and inspired performers.” Both the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn and Honens agree, having chosen this honest, inspired pianist as 1st Prize winner and Laureate, respectively.
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Hong Xu, Laureate

Since his debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, presented by Honens as part of the Competition’s comprehensive Artistic & Career Development Program, Hong Xu’s career has been on a steady trajectory forward. He performed at the Beijing Cultural Olympiad in 2008, has collaborated with esteemed conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Hans Graf and Yannick Nézét-Séguin, and has become a repeat guest soloist with the Hallé Orchestra and recitalist at Wigmore Hall.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Prizewinners

Finalists
Spencer Myer
Serhiy Salov

Best Ensemble Performance
Hinrich Alpers

Best Performance of Commissioned Work
Hinrich Alpers

Raeburn Prize for Artist of Special Promise
Gregory DeTurck

Laureates

Xiang Zou, Honens Prize Laureate

Xiang Zou bridges the gap between east and west. As founder of the New Asian Ensemble, this Honens Prize Laureate is dedicated to commissioning and playing new music by Chinese composers. He is equally devoted to introducing the music of Western composers to Chinese audiences. Zou gave the Chinese premiere and made the first-ever recording by a Chinese pianist of Olivier Messiaen’s seminal Vingts regards sur l’enfant Jésusmore than 50 years after it was composed.
Read more on the All Laureates page

Winston Choi, Laureate

Canadian pianist Winston Choi is Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition.  Since his win at Honens, Choi has performed at some of the world’s most important concert venues, including Canada’s National Arts Centre and Glenn Gould Studio, New York’s Merkin Recital Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Paris’ Salle Cortot.
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Roberto Plano, Laureate

The New York Times raved that Italian pianist Roberto Plano “showed artistic maturity beyond his years…” at his Alice Tully Hall recital debut.  He has since gone on to perform with conductors including Conlon, Marriner and Zukerman, and performed with chamber groups including the Jupiter and Enso String Quartets. He is a Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition, and was winner of the 2001 Cleveland, Finalist of the 2005 Van Cliburn, and Third Prize Winner of the 2006 Dublin International Piano Competitions.
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Prizewinners

Finalists
Romain David
Einav Yarden

Best Ensemble Performance
Roberto Plano

Best Performance of Commissioned Work
Ryo Yanagitani

Artist of Special Promise
Matan Porat

Laureates

Katherine Chi, Honens Prize Laureate

Calgary-native Katherine Chi became the first woman and the first Canadian to be named Honens Prize Laureate in 2000, a triumph that brought her international attention.  She has become one of Canada’s foremost musical interpreters having performed throughout Europe and North America to great acclaim. “Ms Chi displayed a keen musical intelligence and a powerful arsenal of technique” wrote The New York Times.
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Marko Martin, Laureate

Pianist Marko Martin is known for his inspired balance between energy and lyricism, especially in the works of Brahms, Liszt and Schubert.  He is equally admired for his interpretation of music of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.
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Alessandra Ammara, Laureate

Alessandra Ammara is an extraordinarily intriguing interpreter of music of the romantic and impressionist eras.  Her playing is characterized by diffident charm and intense musicality. Ammara has performed throughout North America and Europe to great acclaim.  She made her debut in China in 2001 after a successful concert at Salle Cortot in Paris, and in the same year was semifinalist and an audience favourite at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
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Prizewinners

Finalists
Ozgur Aydin
Roger Wright

Best Ensemble Performance
Marko Martin

Best Performance of Commissioned Work
Nana Mamaeva
Marko Martin

Raeburn Prize for Artist of Special Promise
Ryo Yanagitani

Laureates

Maxim Philippov, Honens Prize Laureate

Moscow-born Maxim Philippov began studying piano at age five and made his public debut at eight. A prizewinner of several major international piano competitions, including the Leeds, Rachmaninov, Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky competitions, Philippov was First Laureate of the 1996 Honens International Piano Competition.
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Albert Tiu, Laureate

Albert Tiu has amassed an impressive list of awards and accomplishments throughout his career.  He is Laureate of the 1996 Honens International Piano Competition and a graduate of The Juilliard School where he was honoured with the William Petschek Award that led to his Alice Tully Hall recital debut.
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Eugene Watanabe, Laureate

Eugene Watanabe was the first artist to graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music with degrees in two instruments, piano and violin.  He has displayed his prowess on both instruments by playing concerto performances with each at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and performing two Bach violin concerti and a keyboard concerto in a single concert with the Utah Symphony.
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Prizewinners

Finalists
Yuri Bogdanov
Massimiliano Ferrati

Best Chamber Music Performance
Bernadette Balkus

Artist of Special Promise
Andrew Russo

Laureates

Yi Wu, Honens Prize Laureate

Chinese-Argentinan pianist Yi Wu is First Laureate of the inaugural Honens International Piano Competition (1992).  He began his musical studies at age four and was accepted into the Shanghai Conservatory six years later. Wu immigrated to Argentina as a teenager where he studied with Aldo Antognazzi.  He made his professional debut at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and quickly rose to national prominence.
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Krzysztof Jablonski, Laureate

Krzysztof Jablonski’s love of music began in Wroclaw, Poland, where he was born. At age 12 he performed his first concert with orchestra and by 20 his New York Timesacclaimed “pianistic power of a very high magnitude” had taken him across four continents. In addition to his Honens win, Jablonski was prizewinner at the Dublin IPC, the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition and the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition.
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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Laureate

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is becoming a household name, having performed with the some of the world’s major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France & Hallé. Bavouzet is an exclusive recording artist for the Chandos label and has released many critically acclaimed discs of Ravel, Bartók, Haydn and Debussy.
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Sergei Babayan, Laureate

Armenian pianist Sergei Babayan was the first pianist from the former USSR to compete and study in the West after the system’s collapse. Babayan is a Laureate of the Busoni and Queen Elisabeth Competitions. With a vast repertory — 51 concertos currently under his belt — and passion for new music, Babayan has performed his diverse and inventive programming with many major orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de Lille and The Cleveland Orchestra.
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Dmitry Nesterov, Laureate

Dmitry Nesterov is a graduate of the Central Music School in Moscow and Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory. After the 1992 Honens Competition he immigrated to Canada and since has performed with many Canadian orchestras and is a regular fixture on the Calgary music scene. He has toured Europe and the United States and often performs with his wife, violinist Olga Kotova as Duo Solista, a name indicating their dedication to being both solo artists and chamber music partners.
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Prizewinners

Best Chamber Music Performance
Anne-Marie McDermott

Artist of Special Promise
Dmitriy Teterin