- Yulianna Avdeeva, performing on a Yamaha CFX concert grand piano, has been awarded the first grand prize in the finals of the 16th Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition (Chopin Competition), which were held in Warsaw, Poland, from October 18 to October 20, 2010 (local time).
The CFX concert grand, which was introduced in January this year, is Yamaha’s flagship model and incorporates all the best of Yamaha’s piano manufacturing technology. This was the first time for the CFX to be selected officially at a major international piano competition as well as the first time for a piano made in Japan to win first place at the time-honored Chopin Competition.
The Chopin Competition was first held in 1927 and has subsequently been held every five years, with the exception of period during World War II. The competition is dedicated to great composer and pianist Frederic Chopin, who was born in Poland, and is one of the most-prestigious piano competitions in the world. The Chopin Competition has become known as the gateway to success and produced many of the world’s great pianists.
The Chopin Competition this year coincided with the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth, and it was held from September 30 through October 23 in the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall in Warsaw, Poland. A total of 78 pianists participated, performing on the officially recognized instruments of four piano manufacturers, including Yamaha. The competition is held in four stages, and 10 of the pianists selected in the first three stages go on to compete in the fourth and final stage. This time, four of the finalists performed on the CFX, and Avdeeva won the first grand prize with her brilliant performances.
Avdeeva was born in 1985 in Moscow, and, at 25, she is currently a student of the Gnesinykh Russian Academy of Music. She has already attracted considerable attention as one of the most-promising of up-and-coming pianists.
Yamaha has been selected as one of the official providers of pianos for the Chopin Competition since 1985. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth and is also the year that Yamaha introduced its CFX concert grand pianos to the world. Yamaha is pleased to have been able to offer its full support in this way.
Yamaha will continue to offer its highest-quality pianos and state-of-the-art tuning technology for international competitions, supporting the development of young musicians around the world. Drawing on the feedback from performers, Yamaha will continue to make even further improvements in its pianos in the years to come.
â– Results of the 16th Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition
| First prize: |
Ms. Yulianna Avdeeva* |
| Second prize: |
Mr. Lukas Geniušas |
| Second prize: |
Mr. Ingolf Wunder |
| Third prize: |
Mr. Daniil Trifonov |
| Fourth prize: |
Mr. Evgeni Bozhanov* |
| Fifth prize: |
Mr. François Dumont |
| Sixth prize: |
not awarded |
*Performed on Yamaha CFX concert grand piano
Official Website of the Chopin Competition:
http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/competition/auditions/stage/4/day/3
- Das Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, 23rd March 2010: Yamaha President Mitsuru Umemura tonight unveiled the new CF series of concert grand pianos led by the much anticipated CFX, revolutionary new instruments over 19 years in development, and a once-in-a-generation event according to the President.
Yamaha expect that the new CFX concert grand piano, and CF series overall will come to be seen as one of their greatest achievements.　These truly exceptional instruments are the result of many thousands of hours of private testing and evaluations carried out in partnership with some of the most discerning and demanding concert pianists, piano professors and technicians worldwide. Many of those involved had travelled to Wiesbaden to celebrate the launch.
The new CF series pianos mark a significant milestone in Yamaha's celebrated 108-year history as an acclaimed world-class piano maker. The evening also provided the assembled VIP guests a rare opportunity to meet many of the people involved in the development and design of the new range.
Yamaha President, Misturu Umemura comments “The concept behind the series is ‘Beauty & Power’. Beauty signifies the wide range of tonal colors and musical voices the CF series are capable of, while Power refers to their unprecedented tonal projection. These pianos offer artists outstanding expressiveness for truly musical performance, coupled with enough tonal presence to carry over the sound of a full symphony orchestra—and in the largest of concert halls.”
Yamaha are keen to stress that the new CF series is not simply a development of existing models. They are totally new instruments that build on Yamaha's ambitions to exceed the expectations of players and audiences and set a new global standard for grand pianos.
In these instruments Yamaha have completely re-examined and re-evaluated every single aspect of the piano-making process and components involved therein, resulting in a wide range of startling improvements and advances that all combine to underpin the 'Beauty and Power' concept.
Each instrument is entirely hand-built by a small team comprising some of the world's most experienced and passionate craftsmen. All wooden materials are individually seasoned and crafted to perfection and exude Yamaha's legendary attention to detail. The design of the hammers has also been improved and each CF instrument is subject to many hours of detailed and intricate voicing.
The new CF-Series comprises the flagship 275 cm CFX model and two smaller grand pianos, the 212 cm CF6 and the 191cm CF4. Both the CF4 and CF6 draw on Yamaha's exemplary conservatoire heritage and are sure to prove particularly popular with academic institutions where performance, durability and value are paramount.
Yamaha's European Director of pianos Mark Rolfe , “Yamaha CF concert grand instruments are respected and acclaimed at the very highest level and the new CFX and accompanying models are testament to our strong partnerships with many of the world's top pianists and educationalists. The CF-Series can be characterised by Yamaha's revered reputation for tonal clarity, incredibly deep and rich bass, open broad sonority and a long, singing sustain. We are confident that they will further extend our outstanding success with international artists and concert halls.”
During the event, Yamaha also announced new distribution plans for Bösendorfer pianos. These exquisite Viennese pianos will be marketed through Yamaha's global distribution channels which is expected to open many exciting commercial opportunities for both brands. The CF Series and Bösendorfer pianos are superb high-level instruments with tonal qualities that are quite different and distinct from each other. Offering this choice to consumers can create new business opportunities for piano dealers, and provide an unrivaled piano solution for artists, academic institutions, teachers and the general public.
Bösendorfer Spokesman Rupert Loeschnauer commented, “The relationship with Yamaha makes 'sound business sense' to us as Yamaha’s huge resources including world class piano artist facilities will ensure that we can bring improved service and support to our valued artist and dealer network. We will be retaining all the traditional qualities that have seen Bösendorfer become one of the most respected piano makers in history.
The evening culminated with a concert beginning with pianist Frantisek Janoska, whose Bösendorfer was accompanied by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by a solo recital performed on the new CFX by Piotr Anderszewski.
- Buena Park, California - Yamaha, the world leader in musical instruments and piano manufacturer for more than a century, introduces the new CF Series of handcrafted concert grand pianos at Winter NAMM 2010.
The Series flagship is the 9' CFX full concert grand, which replaces Yamaha's acclaimed CFIIIS concert grand piano. Two smaller models, the CF4 (6'3”) and CF6 (7') will also debut. All three models offer the pianist outstanding expressiveness with unprecedented tonal projection.
In addition to drawing on its 108-year heritage of manufacturing the world's finest pianos, the CF Series represents 19 years of research and development conducted by Yamaha craftsmen, designers and engineers. The process culminated with a series of top-secret, in-depth evaluation sessions conducted in New York, Paris and Tokyo with top artists and Yamaha artist services.
“The new CF Series is unique in that many artists were involved with the design,” says Mark Anderson, marketing director for Yamaha America's Keyboard Division.
“We compared prototypes on stage in large concert halls against the best our competition had to offer in order to evaluate their positive qualities as well as their limitations. Using this knowledge, we can now offer players incredible artistic possibilities,” concluded Anderson.
According to Paul Calvin, Vice President and General Manager of Yamaha America's Keyboard Division, “The CF Series is designed to prevail on any concert stage. We expect a positive response from a defined, but passionate target market, including serious and advanced concert pianists, composers, recording studios, television studios, performing arts organizations and educational institutions.”
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