As Paul Pollei is fond of saying, "There is life after Bachauer."
And a glimpse at what some of the past winners of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition are doing today bears this out.
The Bachauer is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, and Pollei, founder and director of the competition, can recite the accomplishments and successes of the young pianists who have participated over the years.
At the top of the list is Chinese pianist Yundi Li, who won first prize at the junior Bachauer in 1999. The following year, at the age of 18, he took the piano world by storm by being one of the youngest first-prize winners at the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. With his win came a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and concert and recital appearances throughout Europe and the United States.
A fellow Chinese pianist, Xiang Dong Kong, who won the Bachauer in 1988, is now one of the foremost proponents of the piano in his homeland. "We like to tease him and say that he now owns China," Pollei quipped. And as far as Western classical music goes, that isn't too far from the truth. After returning to China, he has created a series of music schools around the country. "He's doing very well. He has 75 music schools in China. His goal is to teach the piano to 1.6 billion Chinese. He's up to 50 million now."
Recent gold medalist Cedric Pescia, the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition winner, has a solid career going for him now. "He has a big career, especially in Europe," Pollei said. "He just finished his second CD, an all-Schumann album, and he is playing all over."
After a second-place win at the 2002 Bachauer, Vassily Primakov won the top award at the Young Concert Artists competition in New York, which jump-started his international career, said Pollei.
This year's artists competition (the 19- to 32-year-old age group) includes several pianists who have participated in other Bachauer competitions. "Ka-Ling Colleen Lee and Tanya Bannister hold the record with the most number of appearances at four," Pollei said.
Lee participated in the junior and young-artists competition, and at the '02 artists competition. She also placed sixth at last year's Chopin competition in Warsaw and holds the distinction of being that year's only female finalist at the venerable Polish competition.
Bannister's first Bachauer appearance was at the junior competition in 1987, where she won third place. She also participated in the young-artists competition and at the '02 artists competition. Last year, Bannister took home first prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition. Next season, she'll be performing a recital in London's Wigmore Hall.
Other veterans of previous Bachauer competitions who will be participating again this year include Hong Xu ('01 young artists), Alessandro Deljavan ('05 young artists) and Stephen Beus ('96 junior).
Among other Bachauer competitors who have gone on to major careers are Ilya Itin, Angela Cheng, Kevin Kenner (a former Chopin competition finalist) and Benedetto Lupo.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com