This performance served as the official launch of a groundbreaking partnership that makes Oberlin the North American home of the esteemed International Piano Academy Lake Como, which was founded in 2002 by William Grant Naboré.
Oberlin's Artist Recital Series: Lake Como Pianists
Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata in c D 958—Ran Jia, piano
Frédéric Chopin: Twelve Etudes Op 25—Alessandro Deljavan, piano
Alexander Scriabin: Selections from 24 Preludes Op 11—Marcos Madrigal, piano
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in E-Falt Op 83—Marcos Madrigal, piano
A professor at the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory of Bari, Italy, Alessandro Deljavan was one of the youngest students in Lake Como history; he has been a top prize winner at the Gina Bachauer Young Artist Competition and the Van Cliburn Competition, among numerous other honors. Deljavan will play Chopin’s 12 Études, Op. 25.
A student of maestro William Naboré at Lake Como, Ran Jia of China has drawn effusive praise for her performances around the world over the past decade. She will perform Schubert’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. Post. D958.
Marcos Madrigal of Cuba has performed in many of the world’s most renowned recital halls and in 2012 was awarded the International Award Gold Medal "Maison des Artistes," granted by the Association for Culture, Arts, Science and Social Commitment of Rome. He will perform selections from Scriabin’s Preludes, Op. 11 and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83.
William Grant Naboré, a native of Roanoke, Virginia (USA), began his formal piano studies at the age of 8 with Kathleen Kelly Coxe, and two years later was accepted at the exclusive Hollins College as a special student of the noted musicologist Anne McClenney. At 17 he won a scholarship from the Italian government and continued his piano studies with Carlo Zecchi (a pupil of Busoni and Schnabel) at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He also studied with the eminent pianist and pedagogue Renata Borgatti. Later he was coached privately by Rudolf Serkin, George Szell and Alicia de Larrocha. He studied chamber music with Pierre Fournier in Geneva and won the Premier Prix de la Virtuosité and the Prix Paderewski from the Geneva Conservatory.
For more than 20 years, in collaboration with the City of Geneva, he performed the complete chamber works of Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak, Beethoven and Schubert, plus the essential works of the French and Russian repertoire, with ensembles including the Amadeus, the Talich, the Gabrieli and the Brindisi Quartets. He was also active as a member of the Studio de Musique Contemporaine where he performed European premieres of several important American works. In 1988 he founded the Amadeus Festival on the outskirts of Geneva.
Mr. Naboré has received critical recognition on the international concert circuit as Cultural Ambassador for the United States, and has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. His distinguished discography is broad and eclectic.
An outstanding teacher of his instrument, William Grant Naboré; has formed some of the finest and most finished artists of the young generation. In 1993 he became founding director of the International Piano Foundation "Theo Lieven", and with Martha Argerich created the International Piano Academy Lake Como in 2002.
The International Piano Foundation Theo Lieven was founded by the German Industrialist, Theo Lieven. In less than twenty years it has become one of the most respected musical institutions in the world. This is due to the extraordinary success of its students who have won an array of international competitions and awards and they are considered some of best young pianists of the young generation.The faculty is composed of outstanding pianist-pedagogues. This activity is now available at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana.