Iceland Piano festival
Next up: Harpa, 24 November 2022
Westfjords Piano Festival
2nd Edition: August 2023
Information coming soon.
1st international Westfjords Piano Festival
August 17-21, 2022 in Northwest Iceland
2022 Festival Artists
Andrew J. Yang (USA/Iceland)
Artistic Director
American pianist Andrew J. Yang, has an active performance career across the Europe, North America, and Asia. Deemed by The San Francisco Examiner as "a prodigy, [running] the emotional gamut from brooding introspection to manic exuberance”, Yang has performed at venues such as Auditorium Marcel Landowski (Paris), Musiikkitalo (Helsinki), Jewish Cultural Center (Krakow), Mozarthaus (Vienna), Hoheikan (Sapporo), Carnegie Hall (New York City), and concert halls in Llanes and Ribadesella (Spain). Yang was recently awarded the top prize at the 30th International FLAME Piano Competition in Paris, France (2019). He has also received awards from numerous competitions including the International Heida Hermanns Piano Competition, Euregio Piano Award International Competition in Germany, and the Metropolitan International Piano Competition in New York City. In 2018, Yang was awarded a "White Rose" Medal of Honor for musical excellence from President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö. Yang currently resides in Patreksfjörður, Iceland, where he is on piano and violin faculty at Tónlistarskóli Vesturbyggðar.
Peter Toth (Hungary/USA)
Guest Artist
Born in 1983, Hungarian pianist Peter Toth is one of the most recognized artists of his generation. Toth was the top prize winner of the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest (2001), one of the most prestigious competitions in the world. He has concertized in most countries in Europe and across the United States, in addition to Asia, Australia, and South America. Toth has also won prizes at other important international piano competitions in the world, including the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Weimar (2000) and the American Paderewski Piano Competition (2013). His first released CD recording won the Grand Prize of the Hungarian Liszt Society (2006). Mr. Toth is a regular guest artist at various piano festivals, such as the Festival de Musique au Château d’ Excideuil and the Festival Musique en Vallée du Tarn in France. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to moving to the United States, he had studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and the Bela Bartok Music Conservatory in his native Hungary.
Antoinette Perry (USA)
Guest Artist - Out due to injury
Antoinette Perry, born into a family of professional musicians, gave her first public performance at the age of four. Since then, she has concertized extensively throughout the United States, Germany, France, England, and China. She has been heard often on NPR and the Bravo! Channel, and has recorded for the Crystal, Harmonie, Pacific Rainbow, Pacific Serenades, Excelsior, and Navona/PARMA labels. Her first solo album, “Beethoven Bookends,” was released under the Navona LIVE/PARMA label in 2021. Le Dauphine Libéré has lauded her “irreproachable technique” and “a musical comprehension which could only belong to one of the Greats.” The LA Times has praised her “exceptional artistry”, her “superb Schubert in every respect". She was one of only two women representing the United States in the 6th Van Cliburn International Competition (1981). Ms. Perry served on the UCLA piano faculty for 12 years before joining the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music in 1996, where she currently teaches. The California Association of Professional Music Teachers awarded her their 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Myung Hwang Park (South Korea/France)
Composer in Residence
Myung Hwang Park, born in 1987 in South Korea, made a commitment to music studies at the age of 16. He pursues his studies of Composition Theory and Film Scoring at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, while being laureate of scholarships from the Tarazzi Foundation and Leg Jabès Foundation. He studied piano in parallel at Haute Ecole de Music de Genève for his master’s degree in piano performance. His teachers and mentors include Thierry Escaich, Yves Henry, Dominique Weber, Bruno Coulais, Marie-Jeanne Serero. Since 2017, Park composes for short animations and films, several which have been selected by numerous festivals and exposed in the museum (such as at the Jeu de Paume in Paris). His compositions were also featured in media facade projections on Grand Cathédrale of Orléans, Abbaye de Notre-dame des anges. He was a composer and musician on numerous cine-concerts in film festivals (Mon premier festival at Paris, Music&Cinéma at Aubagne and Marseille) and cine concerts Méliès redécouvert (Maison de la Radio France), and Voyage extraordinaire (Hermès).
ABOUT
The International Westfjords Piano Festival presents world-class piano recitals in the beautiful Northwest region of Iceland. Each year invited musicians will produce an exciting program with a unique artistic vision and give masterclasses to the students in the community culminating in a student concert. Concerts will be held across the Westfjords region in Patreksfjörður, Tálknafjörður, and Ísafjörður. The tour will culminate with a concert at Harpa in Reykjavík.
This year's inaugural Festival is gratefully funded and sponsored by Uppbyggingarsjóði Vestfjarða, Rannís Music Fund, Ýlir – Tónlistarsjóður Hörpu, Lionsklúbbur Patreksfjarðar, Oddi hf., and Tónlistarskóli Ísafjarðar.
Meet the Team
Andrew J. Yang
Artistic Director
President
Sara Líf Helgadóttir
Project Manager
Graphic Designer
Helga Gísladóttir
Artist Coordinator
Public Relations
Alda Hrannardóttir
Organizational Consultant