The 2022 Competition: Piano
The 2022 Heida Hermanns Piano Competition will once again bring four of the world’s top young pianists to Westport, Connecticut to compete over the course of three days in one of America’s most celebrated cultural communities.
The winner receives a cash prize of $10,000, and each of the other finalists will receive a prize of $2,500. All four finalists will also receive meals and lodging in Westport during their stay, with access to a grand piano for their use. In addition to a cash prize, the Winner shall receive an invitation to perform a solo recital at MoCA Westport, at a later date.
Prior winners include celebrated pianists who have gone on to perform in the world’s most important halls, such as Spencer Myer, Frederic Chiu, Josh Wright, Timur Mustikimov, and Yue Chu.
The 2022 Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition will spotlight the unjustly neglected music for solo piano of the important African-American composer, Nathaniel Dett. Born in Canada, Dett studied and made his career in the United States, and is one of the great American composers of the 20th century and a trailblazing figure in the history of Black composers of classical music. Clipper Erickson, the distinguished American pianist and a recognized scholar of Nathaniel Dett and his music, will serve as Artistic Advisor to the Heida 2022. Learn more about Nathaniel Dett.
2022 Finalists
The 2022 competition features four accomplished young pianists who will perform in various settings during Heida Week. Learn more about the finalists.
Katherine Benson
Nathan Cheung
Aaron Kurz
Artem Kuznetsov
SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE
Please enjoy free admission to the masterclasses held at The Westport Library and/or the free livestream.
AUG 11
3pm | Masterclass - The Westport Library
4pm | Masterclass - Westport Public Library
6PM | Performance - MoCA Westport
7:30PM | Performance - MoCA Westport
AUG 12
12pm | Nathaniel Dett Lecture by Clipper Erickson - Westport Library
3pm | Masterclass - Westport Public Library
4pm | Masterclass - Westport Public Library
6PM | Performance - MoCA Westport
7:30PM | Performance - MoCA Westport
AUG 13
7pm | Award Ceremony and Jury Performances - MoCA Westport
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES:
UPDATED 3/1/22: Face masks are optional in the Museum and The Academy, in accordance with the Town of Westport guidance.
The Legacy of Heida Hermanns
Heida Hermanns, the founder of the Connecticut Alliance for Music, Inc. (CAM), was a pianist, teacher and philanthropist. She was born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1906 and received her first piano lessons from her mother. At the age of 15, she enrolled at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik. Her teachers included Egon Petri, Artur Schnabel, Carl Friedberg and Isabella Vengerova. She made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 18 and toured Europe as a recitalist and concerto soloist through the 1920s and early 1930s.
Past Winners
2019 Priscila Navarro (piano)
2016 Bryan Murray (baritone)
2015 Wenjie Lu (piano)
2014 Xiao Wang (violin)
2013 Joshua Wright & Timur Mustakimov (piano)
2012 Kathryn Leemhuis (mezzo-soprano)
2011 Yue Chu (piano)
2010 Elizabeth Baldwin (soprano)
2009 Alexei Tartakovski (piano)
2008 Yohan Yi (bass baritone)
2007 Jonathan Yanik (saxophone)
2006 Sangyoung Kim (piano)
2005 Wen-lei Gu (violin)
2004 Elisa Vilbergsdottir (soprano)
2003 Dwight Parry (oboe)
2002 Spencer Myer (piano)
2001 Elena Hirsu (violin); Mary Petro (lyric soprano)
2000 Lluís Rodríguez Salvà (piano); Ashu Kejariwal (saxophone)
1999 Alison Trainer (soprano); Aurelien Sabouret (cello); Valissa Wilwerth (violin)
1998 Juyeon Kang (piano); Patrick Messina (clarinet)
1997 Amit Peled (cello); Younmok Jeong (tenor)
1996 Yi Dong (piano); Otis Murphy, Jr. (saxophone)
1995 Joohee Choi (soprano); Inbal Segev (cello)
1994 Andrew Russo (piano); Mark Timmerman (bassoon)
1993 Janna Baty (soprano); Francois Salque (cello)
1992 Andrew Armstrong (piano); Igor Begelman (clarinet)
1991 Bradley Garvin (bass baritone); Varty Manouelian (violin)
1990 Max Levinson (piano); Viviana Guzman (flute)
1989 Rajan Krishnaswami (cello); Christopheren Nomura (baritone)
1988 Yu-Sheng Ma (piano); Todd Palmer (clarinet)
1987 Alexander Simionescu (violin)
1986 Frederic Chiu (piano)
1985 Timothy McGovern (bassoon)
1984 Sharman Plesner (violin); Jeffrey Jamner (piano)
1983 Boston University Honors Woodwind Quartet
1982 Bart Feller (flute); Claudio Jaffe (cello); Barbara Kilduff (soprano)
1981 Alexander String Quartet Arioso String Chamber Ensemble
1980 Judith Malafronte (mezzo-soprano); John Sharp (cello); Richard Lalli (baritone)
1979 Madison Trio Schmidt-Verdery Duo (flute/guitar)
1978 Nai-Yuan Hu (violin)
1977 Rymour String Quartet Stephanie Conte (soprano); Diane Lesser (oboe); Kurt Nikkanen (violin)
1976 Amina Trio (including Christopher O’Riley, piano)
1975 New England Woodwind Quintet Tibor Szasz (piano)
1974 Laurian Laufman (cello)
1973 Eugene J. Moye, Jr. (cello); Emilia Simonem (soprano)
1972 Emilia Simone (soprano); William Westney (piano).
MoCA Westport deeply appreciates the sponsors of the competition who help to bring the event to fruition. Sponsors for the Heida include Kristin Foster, Lance Lundberg and Terry McGuinness, Laura and Dogan Perese, and Cindy and John Vaccaro, and Beechwood Arts & Innovation. MoCA Westport also thanks WSHU for serving as a media sponsor of the Heida competition.
