Jury Members
Akiko Ebi, pianist
President of the Chopin Society of Japan
Trained at Tokyo University of the Arts, Akiko Ebi distinguished herself by winning first prize in the Japanese national piano competition at the age of 19 in Japan. She was immediately invited to France for further training. She entered Aldo Ciccolini's class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and a few years later was awarded First Prize and the Monique de la Bruchollerie Special Prize. She then continued her studies with Louis Kentner in London. She took part in the 1975 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition, winning 2nd Grand Prix and four special prizes. In 1980, she won the Warsaw Chopin Competition, opening the door to a great career.
Active in 37 countries as a musician, taking part in festivals, TV and radio recordings broadcast in many parts of the world: Japan, Europe, USA, Canada, Central and South America, Russia, China and the Middle East.
She has performed with many prestigious orchestras, including the NHK Symphony, most Japanese orchestras, the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, and major British orchestras, under conductors such as Skrowazcewski, Bruggen, Janowski, Sinaisky, Foster, Sado, Guschulbauer, Calderón, Milanov, Klee, Wolinska, Pommier etc.
She performs two pianos and four hands with Martha Argerich, and one of their concerts has been broadcast on TV several times in many European countries, as well as in Israel and Japan.
She has recorded Chopin's complete etudes, preludes, nocturnes and impromptus, as well as his Concerto in E minor, and works by Grieg, Franck, Ravel, Fauré, Webern and others.
Named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, she is also the winner of Japan's prestigious Exxon-Mobile Music Prize. She is a regular jury member at major international piano competitions, notably in Hamamatsu and Warsaw (Chopin Competition).
She is President of the Chopin Society of Japan and Chair of the Yokohama International Piano Competition Committee.
Yves Henry, pianist
Professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
In a career spanning almost 40 years, which has taken him to the world's greatest concert halls, from the Berlin Philharmonic to Carnegie Hall, from the Théâtre des Champs Elysées to Victoria Hall, Yves Henry has won countless awards and traveled the world. His interpretations of the Romantic repertoire, in particular the works of Schumann (whose international competition he won in Zwickau at the age of 22) and those of Chopin, which he was one of the first to explore on period instruments, have won him international recognition and made him a sought-after teacher.
His discography includes some twenty CDs, almost all of which feature works by Chopin, on both modern and period pianos. His Complete Chopin Mazurkas on period piano, published in 2020, his CD “Chopin à Nohant, la chambre enchantée” on Pleyel 1837, published in 2022, and his Double Complete Chopin Waltzes (Pleyel 1837 and Bechstein 2020), published in 2024, each received 5 Diapasons and other awards from Classica.
Professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris since 1999, he gives masterclasses at leading universities in the USA (Yale, Boston University, NEC), Asia (Central Conservatory in Beijing, Shanghai University, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Toho University in Tokyo), and Europe (Poland, Germany, Italy). He is a jury member at major international competitions (World Music Master in Monte-Carlo, Schumann International Piano Competition in Zwickau, Chopin Competition in Warsaw).
In 2010, Yves Henry was elevated to the rank of Officier des Arts et des Lettres and awarded the Gloria Artis by the Polish state. In j2011, he succeeded Alain Duault as President of the Nohant Festival Chopin after fifteen years as Artistic Director. In 2021, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Chopin Societies in Warsaw. In 2023, he initiated the twinning of the Maison de George Sand in Nohant with Chopin's birthplace in Poland. In 2024, he was appointed to the Program Committee of the Chopin Institute in Warsaw.
In 2025, he played an active part in the creation of the 1st Pleyel International Chopin Piano Competition in Nohant, created jointly by the Centre des monuments nationaux, the Nohant Festival Chopin and Pianos Pleyel.
Boris Berman, pianist
Teacher at the Yale School of Music (USA)
A performer well known to audiences in fifty countries on six continents, Boris Berman regularly appears with orchestras, on recital series, and at festivals around the world. He studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with distinguished pianist Lev Oborin.
An active recording artist and Grammy Award nominee, Berman was the first pianist to record Prokofiev’s complete solo piano works. Some of Berman’s other acclaimed recordings include all of Scriabin’s piano sonatas and a performance of piano works by Shostakovich that received the Edison Classic Award (the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy). His double CD of Debussy Preludes and other works on Palais des Degustateurs label has received the Choc mark from the French Classica. His new double CD of Brahms Piano Pieces has just been released by the same label.
At the Yale School of Music, Berman teaches a studio of graduate students, coaches chamber groups, and heads the Piano Department. He is the Artistic Director of the School’s Horowitz Piano Series and frequently gives solo and collaborative performances as part of that series and others. Berman regularly performs and coaches at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music, teaches master classes throughout the world, and adjudicates national and international competitions.
Berman has authored two books published by the Yale University Press: Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer (2008) and Notes from the Pianist’s Bench (2000; the new, electronically enhanced edition 2017). These books were translated into several languages. He is also the editor of the critical edition of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas (Shanghai Music Publishing House, 2011).
Ewa Kupiec, pianist
Teacher at Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (Germany)
Ewa Kupiec has extensive stage experience, having performed at major festivals and with leading orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris. A particularly fruitful collaboration with the Polish maestro Stanisław Skrowaczewski has led to concerts around the world as well as a joint recording of Chopin’s piano concertos in 2003.
A dedicated performer of contemporary music, Ewa Kupiec notably distinguished herself in 2005 at the Berlin Konzerthaus with Schnittke’s First Piano Concerto, marking the first performance of this work since 1964. This recording was released by the Phoenix label in 2008, accompanied by other works by Schnittke for piano and orchestra.
In 2014, she released four notable recordings, including Andrzej Panufnik’s Piano Concerto and Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Quintet—two works that have received prestigious awards.
Ewa Kupiec’s extensive discography also includes works by Szymanowski (which won an ECHO Klassik award in 1997) and Paderewski. His recording of Władysław Szpilman’s works for the Sony label gained particular prominence thanks to the film *The Pianist*. Among her notable recordings are her 2007 album devoted to Janáček’s works for solo piano, “Żal” (2010)—featuring pieces by Chopin and Schubert— as well as an album of works by Kodály and Enescu produced in collaboration with Deutschlandfunk in 2011 (Solaris label).
An active participant in the classical music scene, Ewa Kupiec leads masterclasses throughout Europe and serves on the juries of prestigious competitions, such as the ARD (Germany), Sydney (Australia), Busoni (Italy), Beethoven (Bonn, Germany), and Maj Lind (Finland).
Born in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland, Ewa Kupiec studied in Katowice, at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Her exceptional talent was recognized when she won the ARD Music Competition in 1992 in the piano-cello duo category.
Since the fall of 2011, Ewa Kupiec has held a position as professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover. In July 2018, she was elected a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
Bruno Rigutto, pianist
Professor at the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot, Paris (France)
Trained at the Paris Conservatoire, Bruno Rigutto studied piano with Lucette Descaves, chamber music with Jean Hubeau, composition and conducting.
A young winner of the Marguerite Long and Tchaikovsky competitions (the latter presided over by Emil Gilels), he met Samson François at the age of 17, and was his disciple for ten years.
Embarking on an international career, he has been invited by the greatest conductors - Carlo Maria Giulini, Georges Prêtre, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur... - and performs chamber music with the greatest: Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Yo-Yo Ma, Barbara Hendricks, Michel Portal, Brigitte Engerer, Laurent Korcia, Marc Coppey, Augustin Dumay and the Debussy and Modigliani quartets.
Among his forty or so recordings, many of which have won awards - including several Grands Prix du Disque and a Victoire de la Musique - are a boxed set released in 2014 featuring several of his recordings for Decca, from Haydn to Prokofiev, and a complete set of Chopin's Nocturnes released by Aparté in 2019, to rave reviews. His next recording will be devoted to Schumann.
At the same time a conductor and composer, Bruno Rigutto has written several film and theater scores, directed by Bernard Murat.
Teaching is also an important part of his life: he taught for over twenty years at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where he succeeded Aldo Ciccolini, and contributed to the training of young soloists who today lead international careers - Kotaro Fukuma, Romain Descharmes, Guillaume Coppola, Etsuko Hirose, Lise de La Salle, Claire-Marie Le Guay, François Dumont...
He teaches at national summer academies (Nice, Tignes...), and gives numerous master classes in Europe, China, Japan and Korea. Today, he is professor at the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot, where he tirelessly pursues the transmission of the principles acquired from his masters and his own experience.
Rena Shereshevskaya, pianist
Professor at the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris (France)
A sought-after piano teacher who has trained a host of the finest young pianists of our time (Alexandre Kantorow, Lucas Debargue, Rémi Geniet and many others), pianist Rena Shereshevskaya was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, honorary professor of the Ippolitov-Ivanov Higher Musical and Pedagogical Institute in Moscow. She was awarded the Ippolitov-Ivanov International Prize for Musical Pedagogy “for her outstanding contribution to the development of world musical culture”.
A graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and holder of a Doctorate in Teaching and Performance, she taught for 12 years at the Central Special School for Gifted Children at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and headed the piano department at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Higher Institute of Music and Pedagogy in Moscow.
In 1993, invited to France by the Conservatoire National de Colmar to organize a program for precocious children, she settled there with her family. Alongside her teaching activities in Colmar, she also taught at the CNSM in Paris, the Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison and the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, where she still teaches today. Rena Shereshevskaya gives master classes and public interpretation courses throughout the world, as well as at various academies and festivals such as La Roque d'Anthéron in France, Verbier and Sion in Switzerland, New-Paltz in the USA, Académie de Nice, and conservatories in France, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Spain (e.g. Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, Ecole Reine-Sophie in Madrid...). She is also a jury member at major international competitions such as Long Thibaud (France), Santander (Spain), Geza Anda (Switzerland), Montreal (Canada), Maj Lind (Finland) and others.
In parallel with her intense teaching career, she performs chamber music alongside internationally renowned musicians. She also forms a duo with her daughter, mezzo-soprano Victoria Shereshevskaya. The duo performs at numerous festivals in France and Europe. She is also the creator and artistic director of the “Les Dynasties et les Familles Artistiques” festival, which has been held for several years in Vitré and Taverny.
Danwen Wei, pianist
Teacher and chairman of “The Central Conservatory of Music of China” piano department in Beijing.
Danwen Wei, a native of the People’s Republic of China, is hailed as one of the most outstanding musicians of his generation. His commanding technique and artistic temperament have resulted in his appearances as soloist with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the New York Chamber Symphony, the Augusta Symphony, symphony of the Americas, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony, the Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra, the National Orchestra of China and the Singapore Symphony among many others. His performance with the New York Philharmonic was broadcast on PBS“ ’Live from Lincoln Center” series.
A Steinway Artist, Mr. Wei has performed in cities throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Mr. Wei has performed in festivals such as the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Mostly Mozart festival in New York, the Beijing Music Festival, and the “Tuscan Sun Festival” in Cortona, Italy. His two solo albums were released on 3D Classic label, and a concerto performance was released by China Record Company.
In recent years, Mr. Wei is expanding into the area of conducting as well. He has conducted Soloisti di Perigia, Badapest Youth Symphony, The Oshdot Symphony of Israel, University of Alicante Symphony,and Shenyang Youth Symphony, and the Master’s Chamber Orchestra of Central Conservatory of music of China among others. He has been a principal conductor of Music Fest Perugia in Italy since 2013.
A graduate of the Juilliard School and one of the last pupils of the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, Mr. Wei is now a much sought after teacher in China and a frequent adjudicator in both national and international piano competitions. He has been invited to give lectures and master classes both in China and abroad. Mr. Wei’s students have won top prizes in many competitions, and he is a faculty member of many summer festivals including Musicfest Perugia in Perugia, Italy, and Beijing Music festival and Academy. Currently Mr. Wei is on the faculty of the Central Conservatory of music of China in Beijing, and became chairman of piano department in 2019.