INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARDS 2009 RESULTS ANNOUNCED
9 November 2009
SERVICES TO MUSIC AWARD: MARIA CURCIO
A lifetime achievement award for someone who has made an immeasurable contribution in the fields of piano recording, piano playing, piano repertoire, piano education and other areas of the piano world. Maria Curcio was a piano teacher whose influence spread far and wide. Until her death earlier this year at the age of 89, few people outside the piano world had heard of this tiny Italian woman who gave advice to an endless stream of pianists – among them many of today’s foremost international concert artists – from her basement flat in north London. But within the piano world her reputation was massive. In our article, published in IP September/October 2009, five of those pianists who played for her offered their memories of a woman who left an indelible impression on their approach to piano playing.
RECORDINGS AWARDS
BEST INTERPRETATION OF STANDARD REPERTOIRE
- WINNER Debussy Complete Piano Works vol.4 – Images, series I & II. Etudes, books I & II. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (pf). Chandos CHAN10497
- RUNNER-UP Rachmaninoff Complete Preludes. Steven Osborne (pf). Hyperion CDA67700
- RUNNER-UP Satie Avant-dernières pensées. Alexandre Tharaud (pf). Harmonia Mundi HMC902017
BEST REISSUE/VINTAGE RECORDING
- WINNER Shura Cherkassky – The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings. First Hand Records FHR04
- RUNNER-UP Percy Grainger – Grieg Piano Concerto. Rex Lawson (pianola), Oyvind Bjora (vn); Kristiansand SO/Rolf Gupta. 2L 060 SABD
- RUNNER-UP Vladimir Sofronitzky Edition – Live recordings made between 1946 and 1960. Brilliant Classics 8975 9
BEST RECORDING OF NEW PIANO MUSIC
- WINNER Beat Furrer Piano Concerto. Nicolas Hodges (pf). Kairos 0012842KAI
- RUNNER-UP Simon Holt A Book of Colours. Rolf Hind (pf). NMC CD D128
DVD OF THE YEAR
- WINNER (EDUCATION CATEGORY) András Schiff (pf). Masterclass Media Foundation MMF001, 002, 003.
- WINNER (PERFORMANCE CATEGORY) Alfred Brendel Plays and introduces Schubert, vols.1–5. Medici Arts
BOOK OF THE YEAR
- WNNER The Art of French Piano Music by Roy Howat. Yale University Press
- RUNNER-UP Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching by William Brown. Indiana University Press.
BEST DEBUT CD
- WINNER Yuja Wang Sonatas & Etudes. Deutsche Grammophon 477 8140
- WINNER Ilona Timchenko Brahms Paganini Variations op.35. Schumann Kreisleriana. Clara Schumann 3 Preludes and Fugues op.16. Landor Records LAN 286
BEST SHEET MUSIC
- WINNER (NEW WORK CATEGORY) Alban Berg, Marvin Wolfthal Lulu Fantasy for piano. Universal Edition UE 33970
- WINNER (EDITION CATEGORY) Mozart Sonata in A K310. Wiener Urtext Edition (with facsimile). Schott/Universal Edition ISMN M-50057-283-1
- WINNER (EDITION CATEGORY) Chopin Four Ballades. Ed. Jim Samson. Edition Peters
READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST RECORDING
- WINNER Piotr Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall. Virgin Classics 6 94688 2
- RUNNER-UP Garrick Ohlsson Scriabin Complete Etudes. Bridge 9287
The full list of winners, including citations, is published in the November/December 2009 issue of International Piano magazine.
