Jury for the 2009 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 Busoniwas released by Naxos in December 2005 and in March 2007 they recorded major works of Schubert as part of Naxos's ongoing complete Schubert duet series. From 1982 to July 2009 John was 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 Jaen, 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 debut 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.

Two discs from last year have earned high critical praise: Elgar's First Symphony transcribed for solo piano by Sigfrid Karg-Elert coupled with Alan Bush's youthful Sonata op. 2, attracted a 5***** rating in November, 2007 BBC Music Magazine and an earlier disc - piano music by Constant Lambert and Malcolm Arnold - was Editor's Choice in February 2007 Gramophone magazine.

All these CDs are initial releases in an ongoing series recorded at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, where Mark has the distinction of becoming the first solo artist to record.

Future recordings include the completion of a Frank Bridge cycle (Volume 1 has become BBC Music Magazine's 'Benchmark Bridge' and was Instrumental Choice 5***** in the September, 2006 issue of the magazine) a CD of four British Piano Concertos with the CBSO and Howard Williams and a disc next year of Ireland's Piano Concerto and 'Legend', coupled with the premiere of Bax's Concertino for Piano and Orchestra with the Orchestra of the Swan and David Curtis.

His CD of Ivor Gurney has earned him a maximum 3*** rating in the current Penguin Guide to Classical CDs in recognition of "an outstanding performance and recording in every way."

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, London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of the Swan, at all the major London concert halls and at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, and he has featured both as concerto soloist and recitalist on BBC Television and Radio and also on major European Television and Radio networks.

Mark studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a recipient of numerous international awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship, the Chappell Silver Medal and the Ivan Sutton Recording Prize - the latter awarded to the one outstanding graduate of the combined London Music Colleges. He later studied in Italy with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Mark's programming demonstrates a commitment to the music of our time and he regularly includes contemporary composers as diverse as Takemitsu, Julian Anderson, John McCabe, Francis Pott, John Joubert and Elliot Carter in his recital series.

No less a passionate advocate of the Viennese classics, Mark is also establishing a reputation as a refined and elegant exponent of French music and over recent years he has given critically acclaimed South Bank and Paris recitals with special emphasis on French nineteenth- and twentieth-century pianistic traditions. His French debut in the capital’s Musée des Invalides Grands Interprétes, Premières Armes Series, was described by Aldo Ciccolini as "one of the most brilliant debuts I have witnessed in the capital", and his Erik Satie concert, featuring the UK première of Sports et divertissements in its original version for narrator and piano toured festivals in this country before playing sold-out performances at 'le chat blanc' cabaret club in Montmartre.

Projects for 2007/8 include continuing releases for the SOMM label of twentieth-century British piano music, a critically acclaimed disc of Mozart Piano Concertos K413, 414, 415 with the Orchestra of the Swan and David Curtis, appearances in major concert series and festivals in the UK and within Europe (including a debut at the Husum ''Piano Rarities'' Festival in Germany) and London recitals at St John’s Smith Square.

Michael Seal In May 2005, the City of rmingham 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 and conducting the CBSO’s Benevolent Fund concert.

Now in his fifth year as Assistant Conductor, Michael has conducted the CBSO in numerous, highly acclaimed projects. He conducted a performance of Lutoslawski “Chain 1” in the 2007, with a programme including Hugh Wood’s Piano Concerto, with Joanna MacGregor as soloist, and Walton Symphony No.1, was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Michael also conducted the CBSO on the ground-breaking CD, “Rafi Resurrected”, collaborating with Saregama and Sonu Niigaam.

Michael has also forged a special relationship with the CBSO Youth Orchestra, conducting them twice in Symphony Hall. He is also Artistic Advisor and Conductor for the CBSOYO Academy, a chamber orchestra formed in 2007, and conducted them in Birmingham and the Three Choirs Festival.

Michael has conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Ulster Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also appeared with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and last season he conducted the Orquestra Filarmonica de Buenos Aires for a second time. In 2009-10, he makes his debuts with Odense Symphony Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orchestra.
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, Tuscany, Holland and Poland. He has also been a regular guest with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra since they gave him his conducting debut in 1996. Michael has also conducted the Midland Concert Orchestra, Birmingham University Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra, including a tour of the Czech Republic in 2008.

His future CBSO concerts include Schools and Family concerts, Film and Indian music concerts and a concert featuring the trumpeter, Hugh Masekela. Michael will also conduct a Matinee Concert in October 2009 as well as concerts in Malvern, Dudley and Shrewsbury. He is delighted to be conducting the CBSO Benevolent Fund concert in September 2009 and he will continue his work with the CBSOYO, conducting them in February 2010.

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.

Dudley International Piano Competition - Registered Charity No: 1088446