Eduard Kunz (Russian: Эдуард Кунц), (born October 30, 1980, in Omsk, Soviet Union) is a Russian pianist. He reached the 2nd round in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011.[1]

Eduard Kunz
Eduard Kunz
Eduard Kunz
Background information
Born (1980-10-30) October 30, 1980 (age 44)
Omsk, USSR
GenresClassical
OccupationPianist
InstrumentPiano

Biography

edit

Eduard was born in Siberia from an assimilated minority German ethnic in Russia. He studied with Michail Khokhlov at the Gnessin Special school for gifted children and with Andrei Diev at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.[2] He made his debut with the Omsk Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 10.[2] He gained a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction as well as the Gold Medal for performance from the Royal Northern College of Music[3] studying with Norma Fisher[2] and the late Mark Ray.

Named among 10 tomorrow's great pianists by the BBC Music Magazine, Eduard Kunz has performed and broadcast with many major orchestras in the UK[4] including the BBC Symphony, BBC Concert, and BBC Scottish Symphony orchestras, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Hallé, Ulster Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and London Musici orchestras, with conductors such as Tugan Sokhiev, Christian Mandeal, Edward Gardner, Gerard Schwarz, Lothar Koenigs, Garry Walker, Clark Rundell, Mark Stephenson, Alejandro Posada, Josep Caballe Domenech, Alexander Joel, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Barry Wordsworth and David Angus, amongst others.

Other important debuts included Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie, The Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orkest van het Oosten, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse and Braunschweig Symphony orchestras as well as recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Louvre in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Winterthur Hall in Barcelona, amongst many others. Recordings for classical radio stations include BBC Radio 3, Radio France and Deutschlandradio Kultur amongst many others.

Eduard is a winner of thirteen first prizes of international piano competitions[2] including First Prize of George Enescu Competition in Bucharest and Gold Medals of the New Orleans[4] and Paderewski International Piano Competitions.

Other awards included Silver medal from The Worshipful Company of Musicians in London, awards from Hattori and Musical Foundation, Dame Myra Hess and Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe[2] as well as Spivakov Foundation and “Richter” award from Rostropovich Foundation in Moscow. In the 2011, he reached the 2nd round in the International Tchaikovsky Competition.[5]

Eduard's stage partners include Yulian Rachlin, Patricia Kopachinskaya, Sol Gabetta, Vilde Frang, Boris Andrianov, Aleksandr Ghindin and Yuriy Medyanik. Eduard's performances were recorded by all major European stations including BBC Radio 3, Radio France and Deutsche Radio Kultur and Russian Orpheus. Eduard radio recordings include Piano Concerto No. 10 (Mozart) with BBC Scottish Orchestra, Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven) and Piano Concerto No. 1(Tchaikovsky) with Ulster Orchestra Northern Ireland, Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) with BBC Concert Orchestra, Schumann and Dmitri Shostakovich concertos with WNO and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff with BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as a recording with Alexandru Tomescu of complete repertoire for violin and piano by George Enescu.

Eduard is the co-founder of Kunz Piano Academy in Brașov, Romania, where he invites young artists from all around the world twice a year for a week of public masterclasses. In 2020, the academy will have its 4th edition.[6]

Eduard is a Moscow Philharmonic Society Artist, Verbier Festival laureate, a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist (2006–2008) and a Yamaha Artist.

He is featured in the 2010 film A Surprise in Texas about the 2009 Van Cliburn Foundation competition.[7]

Awards and Competitions

edit
Year Award
1997   Spivakov Foundation Award
2002   Richter Award, Rostropovich Foundation
2004   Erik Chisholm Memorial Prize
2004   Royal Northern College of Music's Gold Medal
2004   Dame Myra Hess Award
2004  Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal
2005   Yamaha Music Foundation Award
2005   Hattori Foundation Award
2006   MIFCO Award
2006   BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist
2007   Verbier Festival laureate
Year Competition Prize
2000   III Sabitov International Piano Competition 1st prize
2001   IV Horowitz International Piano Competition 3rd prize
2002   III Bitola International Music Competition 1st prize
2002   II Enschede International Piano Competition 1st prize
2002   Grand Konzerteum International Piano Competition 1st prize
2005   Dudley International piano Competition 1st prize
2005   Bromsgove International musicians Competition 1st prize
2005   Manchester Piano Award 1st prize
2007   XVIII George Enescu International Competition 1st prize
2007   XIII Città di Sulmona International Piano Competition 1st prize
2007   VIII Vietri sul Mare International Piano Competition Winner
2007   VIII Premi Principat d'Andorra 1st prize
2008   Pinerolo International Piano Competition 1st prize
2009   Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Jury Discretionary Award
2009   San Nicola di Bari International Piano Competition Winner
2009   XVII Frechilla-Zuloaga Piano Award 1st prize
2010   22nd New Orleans International Piano Competition 1st prize
2010   8th Paderewski International Piano Competition 1st prize

References

edit
  1. ^ "International Tchaikovsky Competition 2011 – Piano", Wikipedia, 21 June 2019, retrieved 18 November 2019
  2. ^ a b c d e Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, Eduard Kunz biographical note Archived 2017-02-23 at the Wayback Machine accessed 4 January 2013.
  3. ^ Royal Northern College of Music complete university guide. accessed 4 January 2013.
  4. ^ a b Eduard Kunz triumphs in New Orleans International Piano Competition, 27 July 2010. accessed 4 January 2013.
  5. ^ Tom Service classical blog 24 June 2011. accessed 4 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Kunz Piano Academy". kunz-summer-academy.ro. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. ^ Review: 'A Surprise in Texas', Benjamin Olivo : May 14, 2010. accessed 4 January 2013.
edit