Seeking the Complete Artist: Honens Competition on International Piano
Thomas May reports on the latest Honens Competition in International Piano (Winter 2025 issue) including praise for its Gold Laureate Élisabeth Pion.
The Honens International Piano Competition recently concluded in Calgary, awarding its Gold medal prize to 29-year old Élisabeth Pion. Founded in 1992 by Canadian philanthropist Ester Honens, the Honens Competition awards its laureates with significant cash prizes up to CAD$100,000 in addition to a three-year career development program for the Gold Laureate.
“The Honens Competition has grown into Canada’s leading pianist agon, known for its combination of holistic vision with serious artistic financial commitment,” writes Thomas May for International Piano. The competition prides itself on seeking ‘the complete artist’ - defined as one “who combines technical mastery with artistic innovation and inspires through deep cultural and social awareness.” This comprehensive view of artistry is apparent in the events surrounding the competition, which Artistic Director Jon Kimura Parker describes as a way “to create a festival atmosphere and to make people in Calgary feel more engaged in Honens.”
The final round of Honens tested its three remaining competitors in a concerto performance with the Calgary Philharmonic. Pion closed the competition with a performance of Prokofiev’s Third Concerto, which May writes was “brilliantly lit” and “rhythmically alive,” with “a striking sense of spontaneity.”
Read the full feature in International Piano here.
Photo Credit: Tim Nguyen
Calgary's "The Scene" Looks ahead at 2025 Honens International Piano Competition
The 2025 Honens International Competition Semi-Finals take place Oct. 16 - 20; the Finals on Oct. 23 & 24.
The next edition of the triennial Honens International Piano Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious events of its kind, takes place this October. The Scene, from Calgary, recently caught up with Jon Kimura Parker, artistic director of Honens, and Illia Ovcharenko, the Laureate of 2022 Competition. “We’re not just looking for a pianist who plays the piano brilliantly, but we’re also looking for somebody who has something to say,” said Parker.
Since his win, Ovcharenko has performed solos with orchestras around the world, including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Until the next winner of the competition is announced on October 20, Ovcharenko keeps his title as the current prize laureate. “It’s truly like a dream come true moment,” he says. “Winning that competition and realizing that I might not need any other competitions to participate in; it’s truly miraculous.”
The 2025 Honens Piano Competition semi-finals will take place from October 16 to 20 at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall in the Rozsa Centre at the University of Calgary, and the finals will take place on October 23 and 24 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in the Werklund Centre.
Read the full piece here.
2022 Honens Prize Laureate Illia Ovcharenko with Jon Kimura Parker. Photo: Monique de St. Croix
Pianist Magazine: Getting to Know: Illia Ovcharenko
Back in October, Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko was named Prize Laureate of the prestigious 2022 Honens International Piano Competition. He walked home that day with 100,000 (CAD) and an Artist Development Program valued at a half-million dollars. Over half a year later, he is thriving and is enjoying his playing more than ever.
Pianist Magazine
By Ellie Palmer
Back in October, Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko was named Prize Laureate of the prestigious 2022 Honens International Piano Competition. He walked home that day with 100,000 (CAD) and an Artist Development Program valued at a half-million dollars. Over half a year later, he is thriving and is enjoying his playing more than ever. Below he opens up on his experiences in Canada, his Carnegie Hall debut, and how he balances his fast-paced lifestyle...
How has winning the Honens International Piano Competition changed your life?
I am often lost [for] words when trying to describe how my life has changed since winning the Honens International Piano Competition. It was changed drastically! It truly feels like a beginning of a new chapter in my life as a musician. Most of the time I am either on a plane or in front of the piano and I must say, I love it! The best part is performing and being on stage as well as always preparing for something.
Read more here.
Blogcritics: Concert Review: Ukrainian Pianist Illia Ovcharenko – Music of Liszt, Scarlatti, Silvestrov, Revutsky, Chopin
Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko dazzled an enthusiastic audience at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on Sunday, showing NYC why at just 21 he was the laureate of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition.
Ovcharenko is as thoughtful and exact in his concert programming as he is technically proficient and emotionally immersive at the keyboard. His first set centered on Franz Liszt’s challenging Sonata in B minor and bookended that vast opus with two Scarlatti sonatas in that same key, which set off and commented on the Liszt in interesting ways. In the second half he interspersed pieces by two Ukrainian composers, exercising his dynamic control in short works by Valentin Silvestrov and contextualizing Levko Revutsky’s late Romanticism with a Chopin Polonaise at the end.
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko dazzled an enthusiastic audience at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on Sunday, showing NYC why at just 21 he was the laureate of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition.
Ovcharenko is as thoughtful and exact in his concert programming as he is technically proficient and emotionally immersive at the keyboard. His first set centered on Franz Liszt’s challenging Sonata in B minor and bookended that vast opus with two Scarlatti sonatas in that same key, which set off and commented on the Liszt in interesting ways. In the second half he interspersed pieces by two Ukrainian composers, exercising his dynamic control in short works by Valentin Silvestrov and contextualizing Levko Revutsky’s late Romanticism with a Chopin Polonaise at the end.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Chris Lee
Blogcritics: Exclusive Interview: Illia Ovcharenko, Winner, 2022 Honens International Piano Competition
Awards are nothing new for Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko. As the winner most recently of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition, he is in the midst of a 2022–2023 season that includes two Carnegie Hall performances and an international tour.
The Honens competition Laureate must be a “complete artist” who is “a consummate communicator and collaborator, a risk-taking explorer, a dreamer” and who “inspires the heart and engages the intellect.” Though only 21, Ovcharenko has proven his worth by these standards already. (The Honens runners-up were 26 and 27.)
International Piano called Ovcharenko “technically flawless and impeccably musical” and hailed his “stupendous performance of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor.”
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
Awards are nothing new for Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko. As the winner most recently of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition, he is in the midst of a 2022–2023 season that includes two Carnegie Hall performances and an international tour.
The Honens competition Laureate must be a “complete artist” who is “a consummate communicator and collaborator, a risk-taking explorer, a dreamer” and who “inspires the heart and engages the intellect.” Though only 21, Ovcharenko has proven his worth by these standards already. (The Honens runners-up were 26 and 27.)
International Piano called Ovcharenko “technically flawless and impeccably musical” and hailed his “stupendous performance of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor.”
Read more here.
Calgary Herald: Young global pianists to compete at Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary
In 1992, pianist Jon Kimura Parker sat on the first competition jury of the Honens International Piano Competition. He was 33 at the time. It was a relatively young age to sit on a jury, particularly given the fact that the oldest competitor that year was 30. “I remember feeling quite intimidated to be on that jury at such a young age,” says Parker, in an interview from his office at Rice University in Houston, where he has been a professor for 21 years. “So it was a big deal for me.”
Calgary Herald
By Eric Volmers
In 1992, pianist Jon Kimura Parker sat on the first competition jury of the Honens International Piano Competition. He was 33 at the time. It was a relatively young age to sit on a jury, particularly given the fact that the oldest competitor that year was 30. “I remember feeling quite intimidated to be on that jury at such a young age,” says Parker, in an interview from his office at Rice University in Houston, where he has been a professor for 21 years. “So it was a big deal for me.”
Among the many memorable moments for Parker was meeting Esther Honens, the philanthropist and amateur pianist who was determined to bring an international music festival to Calgary. She had made a gift of $5 million to endow The Esther Honens International Piano Competition Foundation and the inaugural Honens Competition took place the following year. She was 89.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Tara McMullen
BBC In Tune: Nicolas Namoradze
Honens International Piano Competition Laureate Nicolas Namoradze joins Sean Rafferty on BBC In-Tune ahead of his performance at the Royal Orchestra Hall. Live in the studio he gives a performance of the Sarabande and Minuet from Bach’s French Suite No. 1 in D minor, and the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 in D minor.
BBC In Tune
Honens International Piano Competition Laureate Nicolas Namoradze joins Sean Rafferty on BBC In-Tune ahead of his performance at the Royal Orchestra Hall. Live in the studio he gives a performance of the Sarabande and Minuet from Bach’s French Suite No. 1 in D minor, and the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 in D minor.
Listen here until March 19, beginning at 16:05.
BBC In Tune: Nicolas Namoradze
Sean Rafferty is joined by pianist Nicolas Namoradze ahead of the Southbank 'Inside Out' concert (3:34). Listen until November 19.
BBC In Tune
Sean Rafferty is joined by pianist Nicolas Namoradze ahead of the Southbank 'Inside Out' concert.
Listen here until November 19, beginning at 3:34.
Pianist Magazine: Honens Piano Competition Commissions New Piano Concerto
Honens Piano Competition has commissioned a brand-new piece in memory of Canadian jazz pianist, mathematician, educator, and composer Bruce McKinnon.
The new work will be premiered in 2022 with additional performances across Canada and internationally anticipated for the 2022/23 season.
Pianist Magazine
Ellie Palmer
Honens Piano Competition has commissioned a brand-new piece in memory of Canadian jazz pianist, mathematician, educator, and composer Bruce McKinnon.
The new work will be premiered in 2022 with additional performances across Canada and internationally anticipated for the 2022/23 season.
This concerto commission fits both pianist [Nicolas] Namoradze and composer Agócs perfectly (both pictured above). Namoradze shares, “I am a passionate advocate of new music. Having a major concerto written for me by a young composer I have the greatest admiration for is a dream come true.” The piece will be an expressive, virtuosic showcase for Namoradze, twenty minutes in duration.
Read more here.
My Scena: Nicolas Namoradze, Breakthrough Artist Here to Stay
Born in Georgia but raised in Hungary, the pianist-composer Nicolas Namoradze launched his international career in 2018 when he became the winner of the Honens International Piano Competition. This Calgary-based contest offers one of the biggest prize packages in the world, and has been picking out top talent every three years since 1992. Namoradze, at 28, is the latest laureate, and he has already established himself as an artist who is here to stay.
My Scena
Carol Xiong
Born in Georgia but raised in Hungary, the pianist-composer Nicolas Namoradze launched his international career in 2018 when he became the winner of the Honens International Piano Competition. This Calgary-based contest offers one of the biggest prize packages in the world, and has been picking out top talent every three years since 1992. Namoradze, at 28, is the latest laureate, and he has already established himself as an artist who is here to stay.
Namoradze’s schedule is packed. This summer includes the release of a debut disc for Hyperion, appearances at the Toronto Summer Music festival and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, among others, as well as a recital tour in Japan. Prior to Honens, Namoradze made the bold and unconventional decision to step out of the limelight for four years to find his voice as an artist. For anyone who has ever listened to Namoradze play, the results of his retreat speak for themselves.
Read more here.