CALGARY, CANADA, October 25, 2022—The three Finalists for the top prize at the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition were announced just after midnight in Calgary, following five intense days of Semifinals. Rachel Breen (United States / age 26), Sasha Kasman Laude (United States / age 27), and Illia Ovcharenko (Ukraine / age 21), will vie for the title of 2022 Honens Prize Laureate and a prize package that is among the world’s largest—$100,000 (CAD) and an Artistic Development Program valued at a half-million dollars.
“The Jury had a difficult, if not nearly impossible, task before them that they completed with great thoughtfulness, expertise, and consideration,” says Jon Kimura Parker, Honens’ Artistic Director. “We are beyond thrilled with this evening’s Finalist announcement and look forward to naming Honens’ next Prize Laureate.”
The members of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition Second Jury are Michel Béroff (France), Earl Blackburn (United States), Katherine Chi (Canada / United States), Imogen Cooper (United Kingdom), Stewart Goodyear (Canada), Ick Choo Moon (Korea), and Orli Shaham (Israel / United States).
The final rounds of the 2022 Competition take place on Thursday, October 27 and Friday, October 28. On the first night of Finals, the three finalists each perform a chamber music recital that includes a Mozart concerto with The Viano String Quartet + Sam Loeck (bass) and a selection of Schubert lieder with mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó. On the second night of Finals, each finalist performs a concerto (composed after 1791) with Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conductor Jeffrey Kahane. Both final rounds will stream live at honens.com/livestream-2022 beginning at 7:30 p.m. (MDT). For further details and ticketing information, please visit honens.com.
BACKGROUNDER
ABOUT HONENS
The Honens International Piano Competition takes place every three years and is considered one of the world’s most prestigious events of its kind. Honens prepares its Laureates for the rigours and realities of professional careers in music and creates opportunities for growth and exposure. The annual Honens Festival is one of Canada’s premier classical music events, intended to share Mrs. Honens’ love of world renowned music with Albertans every year.
Esther Honens created a legacy of musical excellence to be enjoyed for generations. In 1991, knowing she was near the end of her life, Mrs. Honens gave $5 million to endow an international piano competition in her hometown of Calgary, Canada. Her generosity, vision, and love of music continue to touch the lives of Calgarians, Canadians, musicians, and music-lovers around the world.
Honens Legacy Partners support the ongoing growth and development of Esther Honens’ vision by securing the organization’s future. The Legacy Partners Endowment Fund enables Honens to provide wide-reaching programming through its annual festival and other enriching community education and outreach initiatives. The 2022 Honens International Piano Competition is supported by Steinway & Sons / Steinway Piano Gallery Calgary, RBC Emerging Artists Project, the Azrieli Foundation, and IDAGIO. Other partners include Masters Gallery Ltd., Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts at Mount Royal University, Arts Commons, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, ARTHUR / HUNTER, 8VA Music Consultancy, Viewpoint Foundation, Moffatt Piano Service, Hyatt Regency, Alt Hotels by Le Germain, Calgary Herald, Deluxe Design Group, Pattison Outdoor Advertising. Honens also thanks Gather Catering, Philip Chong Flower Bar, United Active Living, Ferrier Chartiable Trust, RPM Piano Movers, Hip Image; and industry partners Calgary Downtown Association, Calgary Hotel Association, Travel Alberta and Tourism Calgary. Public and Foundation Partners include Calgary Arts Development / City of Calgary, Calgary Foundation, Alberta Foundation for the Arts / Government of Alberta, Rozsa Foundation, Alberta Lottery Fund, and Department of Canadian Heritage.
THE COMPLETE ARTIST
The Complete Artist is:
- a thoughtful interpreter, a consummate collaborator, an awe-inspiring virtuoso, a communicator, a risk-taking explorer.
- a pianist who expresses and interprets ideas from a wide cultural context and keen imagination through performances and programming choices that are informed and seasoned by a fascination for life outside the practice studio.
- an emerging artist whose distinctive voice, versatility, and ease clearly demonstrate the level of preparedness and mastery necessary to embark upon a professional career.
The Complete Artist’s interpretations are founded upon the intellectual and emotional understanding of musical text and the ability to synthesize and express such understanding so as to challenge and stir the listener on multiple levels. This creative awareness stems not only from knowledge of a particular composition itself but from a wider knowledge of related music, of
musical literature as a whole, and of the arts in general. If the resulting interpretation appears unusual and unconventional, it appears so freshly and naturally. Artists taking part in the Honens International Piano Competition must also express—through stage deportment, program design, and interviews with arts journalists—a sensitivity to contemporary culture and a willingness and finesse to communicate effectively with audiences regardless of age, location, background, or degree of musical sophistication.
CASH AWARDS
Honens Prize Laureate (one)
$100,000 CAD
Finalists: Raeburn Prizes (two)*
$10,000 CAD each
Semifinalists (seven)*
$2,500 CAD
*Judith Kilbourne generously provides support for these awards. RACHEL BREEN
Best Performance of Commissioned Work* $2,500 CAD
Best Performance of a Beethoven Violin Sonata* $2,500 CAD
Audience Award*
$2,500 CAD
RACHEL BREEN
Californian Rachel Breen received her bachelor’s degree with academic honors from The Juilliard School (New York), where she was a student of Julian Martin. Previously, she studied with Dr. Sharon Mann; until age ten, she was self-taught. She recently completed dual master’s programs at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik and Yale School of Music (Connecticut) with Lars Vogt and Boris Slutsky, respectively.
Breen has earned top prizes at the International Beethoven Piano Competition (Vienna); the Cziffra Festival (Hungary); the Nuova Coppa Pianisti International Competition (Italy); the Livorno International Piano Competition, the Gallinari International Competition, and Premio Roberto Melini (Italy); and the Spanish Composers International Competition. She was selected as the 2021 to 2023 National Federation of Music Clubs’ Young Artist, and received the 2021 Kurt Alten Prize from her university in Hannover. She has performed and taught across the United States, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and was featured in the 2021 podcast 30 Bach alongside Jeremy Denk, Angela Hewitt, Tim Page, and Simone Dinnerstein. In August 2022, her CD recording of works by underrepresented minority composers was released through New Muses Project.
Aside from piano, Breen has an interest in languages, receiving First Prize on the National Latin Exam and Third Prize on the National French Exam. She spends her spare time running, exploring philosophy and visual arts, and forgetting to answer important emails.
Breen is based in both Europe and the United States.
SASHA KASMAN LAUDE
Praised for her playing and commitment to rarely-heard repertoire, Sasha Kasman Laude is in demand as a soloist and teacher with engagements around the world.
Kasman Laude appears as a guest artist at the invitation of such festivals as International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York), pianoSonoma (California), Southeastern Piano Festival (South Carolina), Utah State University Piano Festival, Kyiv International Summer Music Academy, Busan International Music Academy (South Korea), and PianoCity Milano. She has given solo recitals at major concert venues including Steinway Hall (New York), Yamaha Ginza Hall (Tokyo), Salle Cortot (Paris), and Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa).
Kasman Laude made her concerto debut at age thirteen with the Symphonic Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine and the Alabama Symphony, and has since worked with numerous orchestras in the USA and abroad. She is an advocate and experienced performer of contemporary music, premiering works of Nathan Daughtrey, Zachary Detrick, and Eric Mobley.
A top prizewinner of numerous international competitions, she holds Artist-in-Residence positions at NPR’s Performance Today, PianoArts of North America, and pianoSonoma.
Kasman Laude is a Rackham doctoral candidate in the studio of Logan Skelton and Graduate Student Instructor at the SMTD of the University of Michigan. She holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School (New York), where she studied with Robert McDonald and served as a Teaching Fellow and Gluck Fellow.
Kasman Laude began her musical studies with her parents, Yakov and Tatiana Kasman, acclaimed pianists and pedagogues. Kasman Laude is a dedicated music teacher herself; in addition to maintaining a private studio, she has given masterclasses at Lee University and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and lectured at Bowling Green State University. Since 2015, she has enjoyed serving as a PianoArts Fellow giving yearly teaching and performing tours to thousands of children in Milwaukee schools and throughout the community.
ILLIA OVCHARENKO
Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv under the tutelage of Arie Vardie, Illia Ovcharenko has already performed with leading orchestras including the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland), National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, National Radio of Ukraine, and the Versailles Conservatory String Orchestra. He has also collaborated with prestigious conductors such as Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Arie Vardi, Ian Hobson, Mykola Diadyura, Kai Bumann, Benoit Girault, Volodymyr Sirenko, Nicolo Giuliani, and Vitaly Protasov.
Ovcharenko is a frequent participant at music festivals worldwide in countries including France, Ukraine, Israel, United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. He has appeared at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Festival (Israel), Aspen Music Festival (USA), Festival Auvers-sur-Oise and the Pontoise Piano Campus (France), and Bern Interlaken Classics (Switzerland), among others. The recipient of the Polonsky Fellowship (2019, 2021), he studied at the Aspen Music Festival (Colorado) with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Hung Kuan Chen.
His most recent achievements include Second Prize at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in 2022, becoming a Laureate of the Busoni International Piano Competition (Italy) in 2021, winning the Michelangeli Prize at the Eppan International Piano Academy (Italy), as well as First Prize at the Horowitz International Piano Competition (Ukraine) in 2019.
Ovcharenko is a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship of Ukraine.
