Jury for the 2007 Competition

Gordon Fergus-Thompson (Chairman)
John Humphreys
Margaret Fingerhut
William Fong
Mark Bebbington
Michael Seal (Final stage only)

Introducing our panel of distinguished Judges

Gordon Fergus Thompson	John Humphreys	Margaret Fingerhut
William Fong	Mark Bebbington	Michael Seal

Gordon Fergus Thompson Gordon Fergus-Thompson’s award winning interpretations of French Impressionist and Russian Romantic piano music have been much acclaimed throughout the European Press.Following a sensational debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1976 he firmly established himself as a major recitalist and concerto player, appearing as soloist with the Philharmonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Götenburg Symphony, Residente Orchestra of the Hague, CBSO, RLPO, Hallé,

Bournemouth and all the BBC Symphony Orchestras,with such conductors as Evgeni Svetlanov, Jacek Kaspszyk, Sir Edward Downes, Helmut Müller-Brühl, Mosche Atzmon, David Atherton and Sir Charles Groves.

He has appeared in all the major halls in London and Paris, given over two hundred broadcast recitals on BBC Radio 3 and toured extensively in the UK, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Australia and the Far East.

Gordon Fergus-Thompson is presently recording the complete works of Scriabin for ASV and has now completed 6 of the 8 volumes. His complete sets of Debussy and Ravel are already in the catalogue.

Further to his UK appearances this season, Gordon Fergus-Thompson returns to the USA for his third lecture-recital.

Gordon Fergus-Thompson won the prestigious MRA ‘Best Instrumental Recording of the Year’ award in successive years, namely 1991 and 1992, in the first instance for his outstanding complete works of Debussy, and in the second, for Volume 1 of the complete works of Scriabin.

Gordon is Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music.

Reviews:

“Fergus-Thompson once again turning in performances comparable to Richter and Horowitz ...that is to say, performances comparable with the best that history has to offer.”
FANFARE USA

"Gordon Fergus-Thompson is your man. Even the most experienced Ravelians will find themselves returning to these finely recorded accounts for a special and magical enlightenment.”
BRYCE MORRISON, GRAMOPHONE

(Debussy Preludes)

“I have never heard a recorded version that approaches these performances in terms of musical insight and sheer atmosphere. Fergus-Thompson’s range of tone colour, and control of dynamic and texture are nothing short of transcendental, and his inspired use of the sustaining pedal is really something to marvel at.”
JULIAN HAYLOCK, CD REVIEW

John Humphreys John Humphreys was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in Vienna.  He made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1972 and since then has played extensively throughout the UK, abroad and for BBC Radio 3 in a repertoire that extends from Bach's 'Goldberg' Variations through the complete Mozart Sonatas and Beethoven's 'Diabelli' Variations to Busoni's rarely heard 'Fantasia Contrappuntistica'.  His recording (with Allan Schiller) of the two piano music of Ferrucio Busoni was issued in 2005 by Naxos (8.557443). He is at present Assistant Head of Keyboard Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire

A Chandos artist, Margaret’s extensive discography has received worldwide critical acclaim. Her numerous discs include works by Bax, Berkeley, Bloch, Dukas, Falla, Grieg, Howells, Leighton, Novak, Stanford and Suk. Many have been selected as the Gramophone’s Critics’ Choice, and two of her Bax recordings - the Octet with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble and the Concertante for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra with Vernon Handley and the BBC Philharmonic - were short-listed for Gramophone awards. She was also the soloist in the world premiere recording of Percy Young’s arrangement of Elgar’s sketches for his Piano Concerto slow movement, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra conducted by Douglas Bostock.

Margaret Fingerhut was a visiting tutor of piano at the Royal Northern College of Music for a number of years, and she is currently a visiting artist at the Birmingham Conservatoire. She is much sought after to give masterclasses and workshops at music colleges and schools throughout the UK; her teaching at the Dartington International Summer School has been described by “The Spectator” magazine as demonstrating “enormous skill and sympathy”. She has also been an adjudicator for the BBC Young Musician of the Year on several occasions. In the USA Margaret was elected a National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the arts.

In addition to her performing and teaching, Margaret has also written articles for magazines such as Classical Music, Pianist and Piano Professional.

William Fong Internationally renowned pianist William Fong regularly performs with the world's leading orchestras, and in recital. In the UK he has performed at all London's major venues and his concerts have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and BBC television.

International performances have taken place in New York, Moscow and St Petersburg (under the auspices of the Sviatoslav Richter Foundation), and across France and Spain. His concerts have also been broadcast on television and on radio in Europe and the US.

Most recently, William was given support by The Arts Council to travel to China to give a recital and lead a week of masterclasses in Shanghai.

William first came to international attention in 1984 when he won the first prize, gold medal and Rosa Sabater prize at the Concurso Internacional de Piano in Jaén, Spain. This proved to be the first of many such successes, to which he has since added the Busoni, Cleveland, Iturbi, and Scottish International Competitions.

St. John's Smith Square was the venue for William's London concerto début with the Philharmonia Orchestra which took place soon after that first win.

William is also a chamber musician, and has performed with ensembles such as the Brodsky Quartet and members of Guildhall Strings. He has also collaborated with singers Steve Davislim and James Rutherford and continues to work with young artists who have an exciting commitment to chamber music.

When he is not performing, William is an active and successful teacher who is in demand for masterclasses and adjudication in the UK and overseas. He is also a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and Head of Keyboard at the Purcell School.

William's CD recordings are available on Olympia and Guild Records.

The critical acclaim which has greeted Mark Bebbington's recent performances and recordings has singled him out as a young British pianist of the rarest refinement and maturity. Increasingly recognised as a champion of British music, Mark has recorded extensively for SOMM "New Horizons" label to unanimous critical acclaim.

His latest release of solo piano works by Frank Bridge has earned him a ***** rating and Instrumental Choice in the September 2006 BBC Music Magazine. His disc of piano music by Ivor Gurney and Howard Ferguson has been awarded a maximum *** rating in the 2005/6 Penguin Guide to Classical CDs, in recognition of "an outstanding performance and recording in every way". In addition, during summer 2005, Mark had the distinction of becoming the first pianist to be invited to record at Birmingham's Symphony Hall. This première series, beginning with a disc of Schubert and a further disc of Constant Lambert and Malcolm Arnold, was released in autumn 2006.

Over recent seasons Mark has toured extensively throughout Central and Northern Europe (both as recitalist and as concerto soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras), as well as the Far East and North Africa. Within the UK, he has appeared with the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras at all the major London concert halls, and he has featured both as concerto soloist and recitalist on BBC Television and Radio and also on Radio France. Conductors with whom he has worked include Norman del Mar, Sir Georg Solti, Douglas Boyd, Charles Hazlewood and William Boughton.

Recipient of numerous international awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship and a Winston Churchill Fellowship, Mark studied at the Royal College of Music with Phyllis Sellick and Kendall Taylor and later in Italy with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Michael Seal In May 2005, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announced it was to appoint Michael Seal as its Assistant Conductor, the first in its history. .  Michael had conducted the CBSO in a number of performances previously, and impressed audiences, critics and the Orchestra alike when he stood in for the CBSO’s Music Director, Sakari Oramo, at extremely short notice in December 2004, producing a dramatic interpretation of the world premiere of Richard Causton’s Between Two Waves of the Sea andconducting the CBSO’s Benevolent Fund concert.

Michael Seal was born in London in 1970. He started learning the violin at the age of 9, going on to study at the Birmingham Conservatoire and joining the CBSO in September 1992. It was whilst studying at the Birmingham Conservatoire that Michael first started conducting, learning with Jonathan Del Mar.

In 1996, he conducted his first concert with the Birmingham Philharmonic in Walsall. Since then Michael has conducted them yearly in performances including Shostakovich Symphonies 7 and 10. Berlioz  Symphonie Fantastique and Walton Symphony No.1, in venues such as Lichfield, Shrewsbury, Leominster and Birmingham.

Michael has been Principal conductor of the Sinfonia of Birmingham since 2002, frequently performing concerti with CBSO members and leading them on  highly successful tours of the Rhine and Mosel valleys in April 2002 and  Tuscany in April 2004. Michael has also conducted the Midland Concert Orchestra in highly acclaimed performances at Dudley Town Hall.

His links with the CBSO, apart from having coaching from their Music Director, Sakari Oramo, have included  Schools and Family concerts, giving a performance of Lutoslawski “Chain 1” in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, giving a performance of Dvorak’s  Serenade at the Aldeburgh Festival in 2002, recording 3 tracks for their promotional CD, “Classic Discoveries” for the Birmingham Post, recording the pre-recorded element of Caustons’ “Between Two Waves of the Sea”, and conducting them in the CBSO Family concert at the Aldeburgh Festival in 2005.

During the first year of his three year tenure as Assistant Conductor, Michael has conducted a Family concert, Schools concert and led the CBSO during Artsfest in Centenary Square. He also conducted them last month in Wolverhampton, followed by a  Matinee concert in Symphony Hall.Later this season he conducts another Family concert, and a concert featuring the music of Mohammed Rafi.

Dudley International Piano Competition - Registered Charity No: 1088446