Former Faculty
Philippe Entremont
President
The exceptional career of Philippe Entremont began at the age of eighteen when he can to the international attention by having a great success in New York's Carnegie hall; since then, he has pursued a top international career as a pianist, and for the last 30 years also on the podium.
Philippe Entremont has directed the greatest symphony orchestras of Europe, Asia and America. He worked with the world's greatest soloists, both instrumental and vocal. He was Music Director of the New Orleans Phil-harmonic Orchestra between 1981 and 1986, after which he became Music Director of the Denver Symphony. He was also Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra until 2002. After having served as Music Director and Chief Director of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra for almost thirty years, he is now Conductor Laureate for Life. He was also Music Director of the Israel Chamber and is now their Conductor Laureate.
In 1997, he founded the biennial Santo Domingo Music Festival, of which he is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Festival Orchestra. In October 2004, Philippe Entremont was named Principal Conductor of the Munich Symphony, which he conducts on international tours, as well as throughout Germany. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta de Cadaqués. In 2006, in connection with the "Mozart Year"; he was in charge of the Super World Orchestra based in Tokyo.
His renown as an orchestral conductor and his experience at consistently working to develop orchestras' artistic potential have brought him numerous international tours, playing before full houses. As Principal Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, he lead several tours in 2005 and 2006, during which he conducted from the keyboard as well as on the podium. He also has been active as a teacher of the ICPA program.
Philippe Entremont has been the President of the ICPA program during the last 10 years.(2005-2015) He has been the President of the Ravel Academy in Paris and is Director of the American- Conservatory of Fontainebleau. His recordings have won the Grand Prix du Disque and the Netherlands Edison Award.
Lazar Berman✝
President
Lazar Berman, after whom is named the LAZAR BERMAN FUND, is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of his time.
A student of Alexander Goldenweiser at the Moscow Conservatory, he was influenced by the great Russian pianists Sviatoslav Richter and Vladimir Sofronitsky.
Until his debut in the USA, in 1976, he extensively toured the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, all the while winning prizes at several copetitions in the Soviet Union, the Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Emile Gilels has called Berman "the phenomenon of the music world".
The music critics for Milan's Corriere dellla Sera called him a "super-colossus", and he has been compared to Franz Liszt in Hungary. Berman has performed with virtually all the great conductors, which include Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Daniel Barenboim, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel and Claudio Abbado.
His recording of Liszt Transcendental Etudes" is considered legendary.
Lazar Berman passed away after having been on the ICPA-faculty during several years. In his honour, the Fondation Bell'Arte decided to create the LAZAR BERMAN FUND, with the desire to associate his name forever to this program.
Keen of supporting young talents, he put a lot of energy in the ICPA program, since the beginning, combining friendship and music
France Clidat✝
Vice President
France Clidat begins very early her brilliant career, from the numerous first prizes obtained to the Superior National Academy of Paris.
But it is the Liszt prize carried off in the Competition of Budapest in 1956, that establishes her international fame. She gives more than 2700 concerts, plays with the most prestigious orchestras, most famous conductors, and crosses the world, carried by an exceptional temperament.
If she retained of her masters the rigour (Lazare Lévy), the meaning power (Emil Gilels), and the refusal of the ease (Lelia Gousseau), it is indeed to herself that she owes her supple and creative phrasing, her rare gestural sobriety in front of the instrument, and her tone of a matchless grandeur.
This great lady of the music possesses the fancy and the virtuosity of the great performers of past, but she is especially a tremendous ambassadress of the current French piano.
Her numerous recordings were awarded in France as abroad, to begin by first and famous complete Liszt in 26 discs, which received, among others, the prize of the Academy of the Hungarian disc. The 3rd concerto of Rachmaninov, the complete of Erik Satie's work, the concerto of Landowski, the concertos, the mazurkas and the Polonaises of Chopin, etc., show that it would be reducing to confine the talent of France Clidat in the only performance of Liszt's works. Her repertoire covers all the periods and all the styles of the music, and we do not count any more the works which she created or which are dedicated to her.
In spite of her international commitments, France Clidat attaches a quite particular attention to her teacher's activities. She teaches to the École Normale de Musique de Paris and gives numerous masterclasses worldwide, in particular in Japan. France Clidat is Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Officer of the National Order of the Merit, Medal of Vermeil of the City of Paris and Commander of the Arts and Letters. She has been vice-president of the ICPA program during several years.
François-René Duchâble
François-René Duchâble, born 1952, in Paris, studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and at the age of 13 won the institution's first prize in piano. Three years later, he was among the finalists at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, and in 1973 he won the Prix de la Fondation Sacha Schneider. At that time, Duchâble caught the attention of Artur Rubinstein, who encouraged him to pursue a solo career and helped him secure his first important engagements.
Since then, Duchâble toured internationally throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan... Duchâble has in his repetoire the concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Robert Schumann, Bartók and Ravel, and solo piano works of Liszt, Chopin, and Poulenc. He has appeared at many prestigious music festivals, including those of Salzburg, Lucerne, Berlin, the London Proms, Lockenhaus, and the Flanders Festival, and has presented concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall, the Philharmonie in Berlin, and the Musikverein in Vienna.
As an orchestral soloist, Duchâble has performed with the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Montreal Symphony, under directors such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Michel Plasson, ...
In 1996, 1997 and 1998, François-René Duchâble was awarded the honour of Instrumental Soloist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique. In 1997, he received an award for the Best French recording of classical music.
In 2003, he decided to stop his career as a "tradional" concert pianist to dedicate himself to alternative musical projects.ch Recording of Classical Music. his item about? What makes it interesting? Write a catchy description to grab your audience's attention...
Jean-Michel Damase✝
Jean-Michel Damase (1928-2013) composed in a style often compared to that of Fauré, Poulenc, Ravel, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Roussel, incorporating many of the rhythmic and harmonic intricacies that are associated with French music of the twentieth century.
Throughout his career, Damase has remained a traditionalist "continuing the line of post-tonal Debussy and Ravel without the modish interest in their deeper-seated implications. "
Or, in the words of the composer: "I prefer the sincerity forced to innovation. "
His music is accessible without being lightweight; melodic, often employing "obsessive" motifs; tonal, although, paradoxically, harmonically complex; rhythmically surprising; playful; respectful of tradition and form; and always suberbly crafted.
Jean-Michel Damase used to teach regularly in Master classes during the Paris Summer Sessions or the ICPA program.
Stephane Lemelin
A pianist with a broad and eclectic repertoire that ranges from the Classical period to the twentieth century and from art song literature to the Romantic concerto, Canadian pianist Stéphane Lemelin has received particular praise for his interpretations of Schubert, Schumann, Fauré and Ravel. He tours regularly in Canada and has given numerous performances in the United States, Europe and Asia.
A frequent participant in summer festivals including the Lanaudière International Festival, Parry Sound, Domaine Forget, Ottawa, and Vancouver Chamber Music Festivals, he has collaborated with artists such as Donna Brown, Boris Berman, James Campbell, Jacques Israelievitch, Peter Schreier, ...
He has appeared as soloist with most of Canada's major orchestras including the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit. Recital engagements have included London's Wigmore Hall, the Phillips Collection in Washington, the Ladies Morning Musical Club in Montreal and the Vancouver Recital Society. Since the fall of 2003, he is a member of Trio Hochelaga, with violinist Anne Robert and cellist Benoit Loiselle. He is also the artistic director of the Prince Edward County Music Festival, a yearly chamber music festival.
After studying with Yvonne Hubert in Montreal, he worked with Karl-Ulrich Schnabel in New York, Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory, and Boris Berman and Claude Frank at Yale University where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
A laureate of the Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland, he is the recipient of several national and international awards, including grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Council, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Austrian Government.
From 1990 to 2001, Mr. Lemelin taught at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. In 2001, he became Professor of Music at the University of Ottawa. Since 2014, he is professor and chairman of the department of interpretatin of the Schulich School of Music, University of Mc Gill, Montréal.
Einar Steen-Nøckelberg
Einar Steen-Nøkleberg is a leading Norwegian pianist, having made continuous international appearances and more than 50 recordings. He studied with Nicolai Dirdal and Hans Leygraf.
Among other prizes and distinctions, some of the most important are the German Hochschulwettbewerb, the Norwegian Piano Competition in 1972, the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Best Performance in 1975 (for the interpretation in Grieg's Piano Concerto at the Bergen Festival), the Norwegian Recording of the Year in 1976 for a recital of Norwegian Baroque Composers, the Lindeman Prize ("Performer of the Year") 1984, the Grieg Prize in 1985 (Bergen) and 1992 (Oslo).
He is a Knight of the St. Olav Order, appointed by the King of Norway for his activities for Norwegian music in general.
From 1975 to 1981 Einar Steen-Nøkleberg was Professor of Piano at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, Germany, an appointment which made him Germany's youngest professor.
Einar Steen-Nøkleberg's international career has included repeated solo recitals in London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Moscow, Mexico City, New York, Hamburg and Copenhagen. He toured the U.S.A. and the former Soviet Union several times. Concerto appearances include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Copenhagen Royal Chapel, the China Philharmonic, Beijing, the Yumiori Philharmonic Orchestra and the NHK in Tokyo and the Oslo and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras in Norway. His recording of the Grieg Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra was chosen by the BBC Saturday Review as the best version of this much-recorded concerto.
His recently released monumental recording of all Grieg's piano music, a 14 CD set, for Naxos Records is recieving international acclaim. He is currently publishing H. Kjerulf piano works (3 CD's) on Simax, and H. Saeverud piano works (5 CD's) on Naxos.
David Lively
The American-born concert pianist, David Lively, began his career at fourteen when he performed Khatchaturian's virtuoso Piano Concerto with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Lorin Maazel subsequently invited him to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra which resulted in engagements with important ensembles such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, ... in collaboration with such pres-tigious conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Kurt Sanderling, Sir Colin Davis, …
Particularly interested in the American 20th century musical heritage, David Lively focused on the masterpieces of Elliott Carter and Aaron Copland, with whom he both studied and recorded their works. The Saint Lizier Festival in the French Pyrenees, which David Lively directs every summer, reveals his devotion to the organisation and performance of numerous chamber music concerts, y others.
David Lively studied in the United States and in France at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where he now resides, in addition acquiring French citizenship. Prize-winner in numerous international competitions, including the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud where he met Claudio Arrau, to become one of his rare pupils, the Queen Elisabeth and the Tchaikowsky where he won the special prize for contemporary music, David Lively has also been awarded the Dino Ciani Prize of the Scala of Milan in 1977.
Having taught at the National Superior Music Conservatoire of Paris, David Lively has also given master classes at the Hochschule in Vienna, the Royal Scottish Academy of Glasgow and the Chapelle Royale in Belgium. From 1998 to 2001, he instructed one of the concert pianists' classes at the University of Music in Vienna.
He is also regularly invited on juries for international piano competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud.
Susan Shu-Cheng Lin
Pedagogical Devision
Susan Shu-Cheng Lin is currently Professor/ Director of the Graduate Institute of Performing Arts at National Taiwan Normal University and an adjunct professor in the graduate program of the Music Department at Fu-Jen Catholic University.
Prof. Lin was born into a family of artists. She graduated with distinction from National Taiwan Normal University, majoring in piano and minoring in vocal music, the violin and oboe. Afterwards, she studied at the Graduate School of Musashino University of Music where she majored in Piano Performance? Pedagogy and Accompaniment, and upon returning to the R.O.C. performed on numerous occasions in recital at Taipei, Tai-Chung, Tainan and Kaohsiung city.
In recent years Prof. Shu-cheng Lin, in addition to her teaching responsibilities in piano, has maintained a very active schedule outside the university making an outstanding contribution to music education. Since 1985, she has served as an evaluator and judge for the Education Ministry and in 1995 took over coordinating activities for the work of junior members of the group. In 1999, she becomes co-director of the National Music Section Evaluators and in addition, she invited to assume the role of judge at all national music competitions. At the same time, she developed and expanded international culture exchange opportunities.
In recent years, she has worked hard to improve the culture policy of the Taiwan Government, devoting herself to the training of musicians with great potential, expanding international cultural exchanges in the area of music; and bringing artists from major international music competitions to Taiwan to deliver lectures and master classes in the hopes of improving the education of Taiwan's leading musicians.
The Council for Cultural Affairs Taiwan, established and asked Professor Lin to lead, a "Committee of Elites within Music " to work toward establishing a comprehensive system for the training of students of great promise in Taiwan.
Marina Scalafiotti
Pedagogical Devision
The pianist Marina Scalafiotti was born in Settimo Torinese (Turin). After brilliant studies at the "G.Verdi" Conservatory of Turin, Marina Scalafiotti starts an international career of concert performer.
At the age of 16, she won the Stresa International Competition for Contemporary Music. The following years, she will win 23 important piano contests.
Along her pianistic career she plays as soloist at the piano and harpsichord and in Musical Ensembles for chamber music with famous artists as Erwin Schiffer, Kati Sebestyen, Jacques Dupriez and Brigitte Autret. She performed in the most prestigious concert halls of Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Germany and the USA, conducted by Ovidiu Balan, Gian Andrea Noseda, Piero Bellugi, Herbert Soudant and Pierangelo Gelmini.
After her first prize at the prestigious Treviso Piano Competition in 1992, Alexis Weissenberg encouraged Marina Scalafiotti to go to Paris to perfect her art of interpretation with Nelson Fabbri Delle-Vigne Fabbri, a former pupil of Claudio Arrau. Later Marina Scalafiotti will become Nelson Delle-Vigne's assistant. She is member of the pedagocial section of "The International Certificate for Piano Artists" presided by Philippe Entremont.
Marina Scalafiotti is regularly invited to give Master Classes in France, Italy, the USA and Belgium and is chairman of the piano department of the Conservatory of Torino in Italy.
Her passion for contemporary music recently permitted her to win the "Spedidam" price 2002 at the International Competition for Contemporary Music of Orleans.