Aimo Pagin and Philippe Cassard to perform at Esplanade
Date: 1-7 July
Venue: Various locations
Admission: Tickets available on SISTIC
Programme: www.pianoislandfestival.com
Following the recent success of its 2nd edition in Reunion Island, the 3rd edition of the International Piano Island Festival will take place in Singapore from the 1st to the 7th July 2019.
In 2018, Piano Island attracted more than 50 pianists from all over the world and for both its 1st and 2nd editions held in the same year. Many world renowned pianists and teachers on the festival faculty – Dang Thai Son, Eliane Reyes, Wang Xin, Florian Koltun, Aimo Pagin, Antonio di Cristofano, Benjamin Loh, Dr Nicholas Ong, Dr Kim Bo Kyung, Elena Nesterenko.
For this 3rd edition, the festival will be featuring once again some very established names in the world of pianists such as Philippe Cassard (France), first prize of the first International AXA Dublin Piano Competition, Dario Dandela (Italy), a disciple of the late Aldo Ciccolini, Poom Prommachart (Thailand), a superstar pianist of the next generation as well as Aimo Pagin (France) who had a huge success from the first edition.
The festival will be presenting numerous public masterclasses, recitals and a festival competition offering many attractive prizes.
The invitation of French pianists is organised with the support of the Embassy of France in Singapore.
About the artists
- Aimo Pagin
Date: 2 July 2019, 6pm
Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio
Admission: Tickets available on SISTIC
Programme: Frédéric Chopin
Born in 1983, from a musical background, Aimo Pagin decided to devote himself to his passion. He started piano at age 7, at the conservatoire of Strasbourg with F. Claustre, and then at the conservatoire of Colmar with Rena Shereshevskaya, where he finished his studies, receiving unanimously the diploma for piano, music theory as well as chamber music.
In 2001 he was accepted to study at the Conservatoire supérieur de musique in Geneva, with Dominique Merlet for three years, ending with the highest dinsctinction, the Diplôme de Soliste.
He won at age 14 the First prize at the Concours Musical De France in Paris. Prizewinner of the International George Enescu Competition (Bucharest 2005) and of the Valsesia Musica (Milano 2006), he won (Napoli 2006) the First prize at the Premio Pianistico Pausilypon with outstanding acclaim, and made with this occasion his debut on Italian national TV (RAI). In November 2007 he won the Second prize at the Ferrol International Piano Competition (Spain), in August 2008 the Second prize at the Jacopo Linussio International Piano Competition in Tolmezzo (Italy) and more recently the First prize at the Palmad’oro International Piano Competition (Summer 2009) and the Second prize at the Premio Fausto Zadra (Abano Terme, Italy 2010).
- Philippe Cassard
Date: 2 July 2019, 8pm
Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio
Admission: Tickets available on SISTIC
Programme: Claude Debussy and Franz Schubert
Born in Besançon, Cassard was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won two first prizes, for piano (Dominique Merlet’s class) and for chamber music (Geneviève Joy’s class) in 1982. He then spent two years (1983–85), at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Hans Graf’s and Erik Werba first classes). After perfecting his skills with Nikita Magaloff, he was awarded at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, then in 1988 he won the famous Dublin International Competition.
A regular producer at France Musique Radio since 2005 with more than 400 broadcasts of “Notes du traducteur”, a program that was crowned by the SCAM prize for “best sound work” in 2007, all radios combined. A boxed set of 6 CDs containing some of the programmes he devoted to Schubert was released at the end of 2011 (France Musique/Harmonia Mundi) and won the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles-Cros. In 2015, another 6-CD box set was issued, this time dedicated to Debussy. Since September 2014, he has been collaborating on the broadcast Classic avec Dessay on France Inter, providing the musical programming.
He has been giving masterclasses since 2008 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (Visiting Tutor), and at the Tibor Varga Academy in Sion (Switzerland) during the summer. He was a jury member at international competitions in Geneva, Epinal, Dublin, Melbourne.
