Piano Master Competition March-April 1992 Israel the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL PIANO MASTER COMPETITION MARCH-APRIL 1992 ISRAEL THE ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SOCIETY THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL PIANO MASTER COMPETITION MARCH-APRIL 1992 ISRAEL ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN’S ADDRESS AT THE PRIZE DISTRIBUTION CEREMONY — SEPTEMBER 1974, JERUSALEM Your Excellency, the President of Israel. Her Excellency, Mrs. GoldaMeir, my old friend and most admired woman in the world, spoke to you in Hebrew, apparently about me. I guessed from her voice, from the expression of her eyes, that she did speak too well about me. I felt that because she has in her heart a generosity which is unequalled; I cannot answer what she said, because I do not, unfortunately, understand Hebrew. I know only the Hebrew prayers as a little boy, and I never learned your new wonderful Hebrew language. I am very ashamed of it. So please pardon — excuse me please — if I answer in English. This Government: the President; Mrs. Golda Meir; Mr. Koi, Minister of Tourism — they have all taken to heart to make this competition for pianists in my name, which was a little bit too muchfor me to take. I was afraid of it, I thought it might be difficult — the country suffers so much; there are countries always ready to fight; it must be always ready to defend itself— it has so many things to face, so many more difficult than any country in the world just now, and yet, the pride of my heart is that it has never lost sight of culture, of music, of art, of love of life, of high spirit, of magnificent humanity. This is the pride of this country. This is one of the reasons why I love it so dearly, and so much, and so deeply. This competition was on the highest level of all the competitions at which I have ever been present. And I am old enough to say that I have been at very many. I must say it is a pride for Israel to have such a high level of pianists. My friend Bistritzky gave the name to this competition of “Master Pianist.” I was a little bit against that very high word” Master,” but I must admit it was rightly used. Indeed, all of them show that they are master pianists. I am very happy to be allowed to give them the prizes which they deserve. One thing, you must excuse me, that they put so much weight on my poor old name. I attribute it really to my old age maybe. Iam byfar the dean of oldest living pianists tonight. And so you couldn’t find anybody better for the moment. In any case, let me thank you from the bottom of my heart to give me so much honor, which I do not deserve, but accept humbly and with love. Thank you. Maestro Arthur Rubinstein about the Competition: ".. .NEVER, NEVER, NEVER have I met such a concentration of talent before; everyone, at a lesser contest, would easily have won first prize. .." (The Jerusalem Post, Sept. 13, 1974). "... Congratulations and many thanks for the brilliant organization of the Piano Master Competition in Israel, success of which was due to your relentless enthusiasm and expert handling of everything and everybody, in spite of great difficulties. Your wonderful thoughtfulness and great warmth made our stay an unforgettable experience. ." (Maestro Rubinstein's cable to J. Bistritzky, Director; dated Sept. 19, 1974) 2 oinyoi wo..." TPTin’n nown nvm ,jwTnron dtiìo ’o d’dhid oovno ow on DODO DDNW "...nnanb HJTM NELA AND ARTHUR TIDIN') DÌO f hm1 nrin Jjl ^>—»1 4_ STATE OF ISRAEL TITE PRESIDENT K ’ ® 3 n GREETINGS BY THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL, MR. CHAIM HERZOG, TO THE SEVENTH ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN INTERNATIONAL PIANO MASTER COMPETITION It is ten years since Arthur Rubinstein breathed his last, but he was one of those rare, irreplaceable, superbly gifted persons who cannot be forgotten. Admired world-over as one of the very greatest pianists of the century, he was notable, too, for his charm, his human warmth, his concern with fostering talent. For Israel he was the wonderful performer we eagerly heard on his visits here, aid and ally to our own musicians, and he was the guide par excellence of the gifted young. Both these aspects of Arthur Rubinstein’s personality are expressed in the eighteen year old International Piano Master Competition named for him. From among the youthful participants over the years,, fine new pianists have already emerged on the world scene. There could not have been a more appropriate way to commemorate Arthur Rubinstein than this tri-ennial competition. Given his special, profound attachment to Israel and the Jewish people, it is difficult to imagine its being held elsewhere. We are more than delighted that Israel is the venue and that our music-loving audience has the opportunity to be present. The Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition has made a firm place for itself in the world of music, and we now look forward expectantly to the seventh competition. Like its predecessors, it will give the gift of continued life to the radiant memory of that extraordinary musician and man, Arthur Rubinstein. 4 n V ® n n n w K i Jerusalem, February 9, 1992. Dear Friends, I send my greetings to the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition that your•distinguished Association has organized for the seventh time. In these days when we are in the midst of a peace process between Israel and her neighbours and we are absorbing waves of immigrants - among them many composers, musicians and talented performers - when Israel's status in the international community has been enhanced, we should not forget the spiritual and cultural life of our country. This Competition is an expression of the vitality of the State of Israel. The participance in the competition - performers from many nations, including Israelis - will carry in their minds the image of this great Jewish pianist who was deeply attached, with all his affection and heart, to the Jewish State. His contribution to our musical life was invaluable and I wish that the participants will attain the heights of beauty and sensitivity of Arthur Rubinstein. Isra'el, which is one of the most important centers of musical life and creativity, is proud of this Festival in our midst. It is a tribute to cur State, to our musical life and to the memory of the beloved pianist whose accomplishments will inspire future generations. It is good that this Competition, bearing the name of Rubinstein, continues and will continue. I congratulate the/Arganizers and all the participants. We look forward, with enthusiasm/ tp hearing the wonderful sounds that their hands will create. [ I With greetings, I I Sincerely\l Yi t^l^A Bnamir I Dear Mr. Ben-Natan and Mr. Bistritzky, Arthur Rubinstein International Music Festival 5 HONORARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN YITZHAK SHAMIR Prime Minister VICE-CHAIRMEN ZVULUN HAMMER - Minister of Education and Culture YITZHAK MODAI - Minister of Finance GIDEON PATT - Minister of Tourism THE SEVENTH SHLOMO LAHAT - Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo TEDDY KOLLEK - Mayor of Jerusalem ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN INTERNATIONAL PIANO MASTER YAACOV AGMON MOSHE NEUDORFER TZVI AVNI JOSEPH PACKER COMPETITION ASHER BEN NATAN LEON RECANATI GARY BERTINI MENDI RODAN JACOB BISTRITZKY ESTHER RUBIN UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF JOSEPH CIECHANOVER PNINA SALZMAN SIMCHA DINITZ MOSHE SANBAR MR. CHAIM HERZOG BARUCH GROSS AVNER SHALEV PRESIDENT REUVEN HECHT ZALMAN SHOVAL OF EFRAIM KATZIR MICHAL SMOIRA-COHEN THE STATE OF ISRAEL YAIR KLESS ARIE VARDI MOSHE MAYER AYALA ZAKS-ABRAMOV POLA MOSES H.Exc. Mr. Curt Hengl Ambassador of Austria H.Exc. Mr. Ivan Cannabrava Ambassador of Brazil H.Exc. Mr. Mark Elliott Ambassador of Great Britain H.Exc. Mr. Louis Lucet Ambassador of France H.Exc. Mr. Otto von der Gablentz Ambassador of Germany H.Exc. Mr. Gorog Janos Ambassador of Hungary H.Exc. Mr. Pier Luigi Rachele Ambassador of Italy H.Exc. Mr. Katsuhisa Uchida Ambassador of Japan H.Exc. Mr. Joao Quintela Ambassador of Portugal H.Exc. Mr. Radu Homescu Ambassador of Romania H.Exc. Mr. Alexander Bovin Ambassador of Russia H.Exc. Mr. Pedro Lopez Aguirrebengoa Ambassador of Spain H.Exc. Mr. William Harrop Ambassador of The United States of America 6 THE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDERS' COMMITTEE OF THE ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN INTERNATIONAL PIANO MASTER COMPETITION Honorary President: Mme ANIELA RUBINSTEIN GUIDO AGOSTI - Italy LAJOS HERNADI - Hungary HAIM ALEXANDER - Israel MIECZYSLAW HORSZOWSKI - USA HERBERT ARMSTRONG - USA SOL HUROK - USA CLAUDIO ARRAU - Chile RENE HUYGHE' - France STEFAN ASHKENASE - Belgium EUGENE ISTOMIN - USA VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY TERUAKI KAWAI - Japan GEORGES AURIC - France HIROSHI KAWAKAMI - Japan MENACHEM AVIDOM - Israel JOSEPH KESSEL - France GINA BACHAUE’R - UK PAUL KLECKI - Switzerland DANIEL BARENBOIM - Israel IRVIN KOLODIN - USA A. BENEDETTI-MICHELANGELI - Italy LORIN MAAZEL - USA PAUL BEN HAIM - Israel NIKITA MAGALOFF - Switzerlano ASHER BEN NATAN - Israel Mr. & Mrs. FREDERIC R. MANN - USA DIANE BENVENUTI - Israel ANDRE MARESCOTTI - Switzerland LEONARD BERNSTEIN - Israel SIR ROBERT MAYER - UK MASSIMO BOGIANCHINO - Italy ZUBIN MEHTA - India JACK BORNOFF - UK YEHUDI MENUHIN - UK NADIA BOULANGER - France DARIUS MILHAUD - France MONIQUE DE LA BROUCHOLLERIE - France SIR CLAUS MOSER - UK MARQUESA OLGA DE CADAVAL - Portugal MARLOS NOBRE - Brazil DUQUESA ANN DE CALABRIA - Spain PALOMA O’SHEA DE BOTIN - Spain PABLO CASALS - Spain EUGENE ORMANDY - USA GABY CASSADESUS - France LUCIANO PAVAROTTI - Italy CARLOS CHAVEZ - Mexico GREGOR PIATIGORSKY - USA VAN CLIBURN - USA CARLO ALBERTO PIZZINI - Italy AARON COPLAND - USA KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI - Poland CLIFFORD CURZON - UK ROBERT PONSONBY - UK PLÁCIDO DOMINGO - Spain MARCEL POOT - Belgium HENRI DUTILLEUX - France BARON ALAIN DE ROTHSCHILD - France JACQUES FEVRIER - France ALBERT SABIN - USA RUDOLF FIRKUSNY - USA BRUNO SEIDELHOFFER - Austria ANNIE FISCHER - Hungary RUDOLF SERKIN - USA MAUREEN FORESTER - Canada MILES SHEROVER - Venezuela, Israel PIERRE FOURNIER - Switzerland STANISLAW SKROWACZEWSKI - USA ZINO FRANCESCATTI - Italy SIR GEORG SOLTI - UK HENRI GAGNEBIN - Switzerland ISSAC STERN - USA BERNARD GAVOTI - France HENRYK SZERYNG - Mexico ALBERTO GINASTERA - Argentine JOSEF TAL - Israel MARQUIS DE GONTAUT BIRON - France ALEXANDER TANSMAN - France CAMARGO GUARNIER - Brazil MARIE-ANNE DE VALMALETE - France JACQUES HACHUEL - Spain FANNY WATERMAN - UK RODOLFO HALFFTER - Mexico Mr.