Blekinge
International
Piano Festival

Artister

Peter Jablonski

Peter Jablonski är en firad svensk pianist och har erhållit internationell erkännande för sin mogna och nyskapande konstnärlighet. Under de senaste trettio åren har han förtrollat publik över hela världen. Efter att ha blivit upptäckt


och kontrakterad av Decca redan som sjuttonåring har hans karriär präglats av samarbeten med ansedda orkestrar och dirigenter som BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andris Nelsons och Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Jablonskis engagemang för samtida tonsättare syns i uruppföranden av nya verk, samarbeten med lysande namn som Witold Lutosławski och Arvo Pärt. Peter Jablonskis förvaltning av Karlskrona International Piano Festival understryker hans hängivenhet att upprätthålla det musikaliska arv som han värderar högt.Described by the Gramophone as "a pianist in full flower of his mature, imaginative artistry", Peter Jablonski is an award-winning internationally acclaimed Swedish artist. He is among the leading pianists of his generation, and during the last thirty years on international stages has performed with over

In English

150 orchestras, given over 2000 concerts, and has been on 30 tours of Japan. Discovered by Abbado and Ashkenazy and signed by Decca in his seventeenth year, he went on to perform, collaborate, and record with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors which include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Or-chestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Kirov (now Mariinsky), La Scala Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, Or-chestre Nationale de France, NHK Tokyo, DSO Berlin, Warsaw Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Los An-geles Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Harding, Kurt Sanderling, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, and Myung-Whun Chung.

He appeared in concerts and recitals in famous venues around the world, which include the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican in London, Philharmonie Berlin, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, Salle Pleyel Paris, Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, among many others. He worked with composers Witold Lutosławski and Arvo Pärt, and had a number of works composed for, and dedicated to him, including Wojciech Kilar´s Piano Concerto, for which he won the Orpheus award for the world premiere performance at the Warsaw Autumn Festival. He remains a supporter of today’s composers and regularly gives world premieres of new works.

Jablonski´s extensive award-winning discography includes recordings he has made for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Altara, and Octavia. He is now recording exclusively for Ondine. In December 2022, he was awarded the prestigious French Academy Charles Cros Award, Con-temporary Music, for his recording of piano music by Grażyna Bacewicz. Peter Jablonski is the recipient of the Litteris et Artibus medal for his services to culture, granted to him by the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf. He is also the winner of the prestigious prize Årets Svensk i Världen (International Swedish Personality of the Year), receiving it before ABBA and Astrid Lindgren. In May 2022 he was elected into the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Peter Jablonski maintains a busy recording schedule, and his forthcoming Ondine releases include the second volume of the complete mazurkas by Chopin in 2023, and works by Ronald Stevenson in 2024. Peter Jablonski will begin his 23/24 season with the Bacewicz residency with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in September 2023. Other engagements include Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3, directed from keyboard, with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Bacewicz piano concer-to with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, a tour of Japan, recitals in Sweden, UK, and his continu-ing stewardship of the Karlskrona International Piano Festival.

Alexandra Segal

Israelisk-ukrainska pianisten Alexandra Segal, hyllad för sin exceptionella talang, erövrade det prestigefyllda första priset vid George Enescu International Piano Competition 2021 och befäste sin status som laureat av flera internationella tävlingar.


Född i Kyiv, Ukraina 1995, inledde Alexandra sin pianoresa i Kyiv innan hon fortsatte med sin kandidatexamen vid Buchmann-Mehta School of Music i Tel Aviv. Hon fortsatte sin utbildning med en masterexamen vid University of Music Franz Liszt i Weimar och slutför för närvarande sina studier vid University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Alexandra Segals anmärkningsvärda prestationer och gripande framträdanden fortsätter lysa starkt på den globala scenen.

Kritiker hyllade henne som "felfritt med full kontroll" och "dazzling" under hennes framträdanden, där de betonade hennes djupa musikalitet och virtuositet.

In English

Israeli-Ukrainian pianist Alexandra Segal was awarded first prize at the world-renowned George Enescu International Piano Competition in 2021, and is a laureate of numerous international com-petitions. She enjoys an active career in the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Israel, Romania, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Ukraine and now Sweden. She appeared at several notable venues such as the Romanian Athenaeum, Kyiv Philharmonic, Tel Aviv Museum of Arts, and was broadcasted live in the national television and radio channels of Romania (TVR), Israel (Kan Kol HaMusica) and Ukraine (NSTU). ‘Alexandra Segal’s dazzling performance left us in little doubt as to the eventual winner. Hers was an extraordinarily virtuosic, buoyant rendition, impressing with both its intelligence and power, showing her to be flawlessly in command not only of her instrument but of her relationship with the orchestra.’ - Bachtrack Alexandra has performed with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Kiev Chamber Orchestra, Donetsk Philharmonic Orchestra, Pitesti Philharmonic Orchestra, Raanana Symphonette Orchestra and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Avi Ostrowsky, Yoav Talmi, Kensho Watanabe and Vag Papian. Alexandra was born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1995. She began her piano studies in Kyiv, and proceeded to obtain her Bachelor degree at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, her Master degree at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar, and is currently finishing her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.

Michelle Candotti

Michelle Candotti erhöll pianodiplom med högsta betyg vid 14 års ålder från Veronas "Dell Abaco" konservatorium, och avslutade sedan sin Master i Utövande konst vid Royal College of Music (med utmärkelse). Hon är vinnare av flera internationella tävlingar i Italien, Storbritannien och Finland, och var nyligen


semifinalist vid den 18:e Chopin International Competition i Warszawa. Hon har också vunnit pris vid "5th Maj Lind Competition of Helsinki", andrapris vid "German Piano Award 2022" och tredje pris samt publikens pris vid "XVII International Competition Gran Prix Animato" i Paris.

Candotti har givit recital på platser som Olimpico-teatern i Vicenza, Royal Albert Hall i London, Athenaeum Romano i Bukarest, Manzoni-teatern och Mozartsalen i Bologna, Verdi-teatern i Pordenone och Padovas Giantsalen, samt Sinfonia Varsovia Hall och Chopin Hall i Warszawa.

In English

Michelle Candotti obtained the piano Diploma with top marks while attending Veronas´ Dell Abaco Conservatory of Verona at the age of 14, and the Master in Performance at the Royal College of Music (with distinction). She is a winner ofa number of international competitions in Italy, UK, Finland,and was recently a semifinalist at the 18th Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, prizewinner at the 5th Maj Lind Competition of Helsinki, second prize at the German Piano Award 2022 and third prize and Audience Prize at the XVII International Competition Gran Prix Animato in Paris.

She has performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau, Symphony Orchestra Citta di Gros-seto, the Royal Philharmonic Concerto Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Goldoni´s Foundation, and the Orchestra Nova Amadeus, and performed for the President of the Italian Republic in the Presidential Palace, in the recital streamed live on RAI.

She has given recitals in venues such as Olimpico Theatre in Vicenza, Royal Albert Hall in London, Atheneum Romano in Bucharest, Bologna´s Manzoni theatre and Mozart´s room, Verdi Theatre in Pordenone Padova´s Giants room, at the Sinfonia Varsovia Hall and Chopin Hall in Warsaw.

Clare Hammond

Clare Hammond, som hyllas för sina anmärkningsvärda pianofärdigheter, prisas som en "pianist med enastående talanger" (Gramophone) med "oändlig kraft" (The Times). Som mottagare av Royal Philharmonic Societys "Young Artist Award" år 2016 lyser hennes framträdanden av virtuositet. Clare repertoar


domineras av samtida musik, där hon har uruppfört över 50 verk inklusive stora kompositioner av Sierra, Saxton och Berkeley. Samhällsengagemang är avgörande för Clares karriär, då hon uppträder för skolbarn i samarbete med musikinstitutioner och utvidgar sin räckvidd genom barnkonserter, mästarklasser och framträdanden i fängelser och festivaler över Storbritannien och Frankrike.

Utbildad vid Cambridge University, Guildhall School of Music & Drama och City University London, var hennes doktorsavhandling inriktad på 1900-talets vänsterhandspianokonserter. Hon var en del av Philip Langridge Mentoring Scheme tillsammans med franska pianisten Anne Queffélec.

In English

Acclaimed as a “pianist of extraordinary gifts” (Gramophone) and “immense power” (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances. In 2016, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society´s Young Artist Award in recognition of outstanding achievement. Recenthighlights include Grieg Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Moussa and Carwithen with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra, Panufnik with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, and recitals at the Aldeburgh Festival, Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice (broadcast on RAI 3), Husum Festival in Germany, and in Denmark and Norway with Henning Kraggerud.

Contemporary music is at the core of Clare’s work. She has given over 50 world premieres, including those of major works by Arlene Sierra, Robert Saxton and Michael Berkeley, and her discography includes world premiere recordings of over twenty works. In 2019, she gave the world premiere of Kenneth Hesketh’s Uncoiling the River with Martyn Brabbins and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and a further performance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko. In 2022, she premiered Graham Fitkin´s new piano quartet with Fitkin, Ruth Wall and Kathryn Stott at the Aldeburgh Festival, and opened the Southbank Centre’s 22/23 season at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the work.

Community engagement forms an increasingly important part of Clare´s work. Since 2017, she has performed to over 11,600 schoolchildren in partnership with Gloucestershire Music and Wye Valley Music in Schools. She frequently gives children’s concerts and masterclasses at festivals in the UK and France, and runs an ongoing series of recitals at prisons.

Jed Distler

Jed Distler

Kompositör/pianist och Steinway Artist Jed Distler studerade med Andrew Thomas, Stanley Lock och William Komaiko, och undervisade i över 20 år vid Sarah Lawrence College. Tidigt i sin karriär fick Distler uppmärksamhet för sina transkriptioner av jazzpianosolon av Art Tatum och Bill Evans, medan hans


pianokonserter med ny musik har innefattat uruppföranden av verk av Virgil Thomson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Lois V Vierk och många fler.

År 2021 inledde Distler ett flerårigt projekt där han framför alla Mahlers symfonier i fyrahändiga arrangemang tillsammans med pianister runt om i världen. Hans europeiska turné 2023 inkluderar nuvarande konserter, samt framträdanden och konstnärsresidens i Bari, Rovigo, Durtal och London. Han komponerar för närvarande 1,827 Bagateller inför Beethovens jubileumsår 2027.

Som Artist-in-Residence för WWFM.Org The Classical Network är Distler skapare, värd och producent av radioprogrammet Between the Keys, som vann ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award 2017. Distler bidrar med recensioner och artiklar till Gramophone och Classicstoday.com, och har skrivit många CD-häftenotiser för Sony/BMG och Universal Classics.

In English

Composer/pianist and Steinway Artist Jed Distler studied with Andrew Thomas, Stanley Lock and William Komaiko, and taught for more than 20 years at Sarah Lawrence College. Early in his career Distler gained acclaim for histranscriptions of jazz piano solos by Art Tatum and Bill Evans, while hisnew music piano recitals have offered premiers of works by Virgil Thomson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Lois V Vierk and many more.

Distler´s presenting organisation ComposersCollaborative, Inc earned a 2013 Guinness Record for world´s largest keyboard ensemble, featuring an composition of his own scored for 175 electronic keyboards. In 2021 Distler embarked on a multi-year project performing all of Mahler´s Symphonies in four-hand arrangements with pianists around the globe. His 2023 European tour includes the present concerts, plus performances and artist residencies in Bari, Roviga, Durtal and London. He is currently composing 1, 827 Bagatelles for the 2027 Beethoven anniversary year. Distler has recorded prolifically for the high resolution Spirio player piano, while TNC Music released Distler’s solo piano CD ‘Fearless Monk.’ (available from Bandcamp).

As Artist-in-Residence for WWFM.Org The Classical Network, Distler is the creator, host and producer of the 2017 ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award radio program Between the Keys. Distler contributes reviews and articles to Gramophone and Classicstoday.com, and has written numerous CD booklet notes for Sony/BMG and Universal Classics.