International Chopin Piano Competition comes to Vanderbilt School of Music…

Music City isn’t just the home of country Music, but is also a hub for some of today’s most talented and well-respected classical musicians and classically-trained performers. Surprisingly, though, Nashville has never been home to a major international piano competition—until now.

This weekend, Nashville’s competitive classical music scene bubbled to the surface yet again, as the city hosted some of the most decorated and established young pianists on the international scene for the inaugural Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition.

On Saturday, Oct. 14 and Sunday, Oct. 15, 26 finalists from all over the globe took to the stage at Vanderbilt’s own Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts, part of the Blair School of Music. The lineup included finalists with their own unique stories, traveling to Nashville from China, Thailand, Poland and Russia, among other home-countries.

With concert halls and Nashville’s decorated Schermerhorn Symphony, Music City was only lacking a couple elements to become a world-wide powerhouse for classical music. Now, the Chopin competition is planned as a biannual event, organized by Artistic Director Dr. Graciella Kowalczyk, a Polish-raised piano virtuoso, and Administrative Director Joshua Izzard, an American musician.

Dr. Kowalczyk told The Tennessean, “Myself and Josh [Izzard] met in Moscow Conservatory of Music 20 years ago and we decided that at some point we are going to start a big international competition. And here we are, 20 years later: Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition. The dream came true.”

Continuing, Dr. Kowalczyk said, “We are so happy to make more diversity in Nashville when it comes to music so it’s not just country music, but now also Chopin and classical music. So it’s perfect for Music City!”

The event aims to bring the world’s best young professional pianists to Nashville and offer the competitors the opportunity to be heard by international agents. For young musicians, this kind of exposure can launch a career in the music world.

The competition also aims to generate more interest in composer Chopin’s work, all the while promoting the cultural diversity in Nashville.

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist from the 1800s, a poetic genius known for his emotive nocturnes, and to this day still garnering worldwide acclaim for his musical brilliance.

Chances are, even if you haven’t heard of Chopin, you would recognize a tune or two from popular culture. Chopin’s music has been widely used in hundreds of movies and television shows including “The Truman Show,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Westworld” and “The Last of Us.”

And the biggest Prize of the competition? The $20,000 Alexei Sultanov Memorial Discovery Prize, named for the gold-medal winner of the 1989 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Sultanov is known as one of the greatest pianists of all time and covered Chopin’s works with great taste; he passed in 2005 in Texas.

The Virtuoso Contestants

The youngest contestant was Alexander Zhou, a seven-year-old from the U.S. Despite his young age, he is already a concert stage veteran and competition winner. Taking to the stage with his small stature and thick-rimmed glasses, Zhou reminded judges that age is nothing but a number.

Finalist Kiron Atom Tellian, a 21-year-old from Austria, played with an incredible combination of sensitivity and taste. His Saturday performance was delicate and gentle, as he touched the keys with tender flutters and extreme precision.

Scottish contestant Ethan Loch had a heavier touch than Tellian, playing with intensity and emotional flourishing swells. Loch, a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, has been blind since birth and is both a musician and a composer.

Loch, first ushered onto stage with his white cane in hand, played his nocturnes and etudes with his full heart. Loch’s dedication to mastering the piano shone through during his performance on Saturday and was met with the audience’s awe and a lengthy applause.

The Nashville Nocturne

The competition has another layer of intrigue, as composer Ashot Ariyan composed his own piece specially commissioned by the competition called the “Nashville Nocturne.” Contestants could choose to learn and perform the song as part of the competition for an added $2,000 Audience Choice Award.

In a video for contestants, Ariyan said, “This piece is a kind of combination of Chopin’s style with elements of blues considering the proximity of Nashville to one of the centers of the blues music, the city of Memphis.

“So you’re probably wondering how to interpret this piece. I would love to play this piece for you, but I am not allowed to.”

Contestants learned the piece without ever having heard it played for reference by Ariyan. Though, Ariyan encouraged contestants to interpret the piece like they would other Chopin music, but to bring their own individual flare to the blues side of the piece.

And the winners are…

The grand prize for the competition, the $20,000 Alexei Sultanov Memorial Discovery Prize, went to contestant Kiron Atom Tellian. Tellian, a sophomore at The Juilliard School in New York City, told The Tennessean, “I am unbelievably overwhelmed. This is such an incredible privilege and honor to receive such an award.”

Tellian has been almost exclusively studying the works of Chopin for the past year. Tellian said, “[Chopin’s] works are profound in the deepest way, and moving, that there’s always more to explore. I think you can spend multiple lifetimes with his music and still not possibly reach the bottom of what he expressed in his writing.”

Other winners are listed below.

Artist (ages 16 – 22):

• 1st Prize: $5,000, Elisey Mysin 
• 2nd Prize: $3,000, Ethan Loch
• 3rd Prize: $2,000, Ariya Laothitipong
• 4th Prize: $1,000, Megan Lo
• 5th Prize: $750, Qizhen Wang
• 6th Prize: $500, Nathaniel Zhang

Young Musician II (ages 11 – 15):

• 1st Prize: $3,000, Zhiqian Lyu
• (Two participants tied for this prize) 2nd Prize: $2,000, Galileo Skye Chrisman Caro
• 2rd Prize: $2,000, Kenneth Chen

Young Musician I (ages 6 – 10):

• 1st Prize: $2,000, Alexander Zhou
• 2nd Prize: $1,000, Murasaki Matsutani 
• 3rd Prize: $500, Katherine Hibbs

Special Prizes:

• Audience Choice: $1,000, Ethan Loch
• Audience Choice: $1,000, Elisey Mysin 
• Best Nocturne: $500, Kenneth Chen
• Best Etude: $500, Kiron Atom Tellian
• Best Polonaise: $500, Ethan Loch
• Best Mazurka: $500, Kieran Atom Tellian