Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition Winner Juan Pérez Floristán Takes New York

On Wednesday, September 22 between 9 and 10 pm, WQXR.ORG "The Young Artists Showcase" will feature First Prize Gold Medal Winner of this year's Arthur Rubinstein International Juan Perez Floristan. The Young Artists Showcase will stream live, and then stay archived at wqxr.org The program will also be repeated Saturday 9/225 at 11 pm.

On Thursday, October 14 at 7 PM, The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition presents its Gold Medal Winner at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall featuring works by Chopin, Beethoven, Gershwin and Ginastera. Tickets are available on line at Carnegie Hall.org, at Carnegie Charge 212-247-7800, and at the box office.

Program

CHOPIN Selections from Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 28

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata"

GERSHWIN Three Preludes

GINASTERA Danzas argentinas, Op. 2

Juan Pérez Floristán, Pianist

Spanish pianist Juan Pérez Floristán (born in Seville, 1993) started playing the piano at the age of 7, studying first with his mother, María Floristán, and later with Galina Eguiazarova at the School of Music "Reina Sofía" in Madrid. His first piano recital was at age 11, and since then he has tirelessly developed his
repertoire and career throughout the years, especially after winning competitions such as the Santander Piano Competition "Paloma O'Shea" 2015, Steinway-Berlin Piano Competition 2015, Kissinger Klavierolymp 2018, and most recently collected First Prize and Audience Favorite at the 16th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, 2021.

His repertoire includes 35 piano concertos ranging from Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto to Ligeti's Piano Concerto, Floristán has played in more than 25 countries around the world in such venues as London's Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall (as part of his debut at the BBC Proms 2019 with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra), Saint Petersburg's Philharmonia, München's Herkulessaal, Budapest's Béla Bartók Hall, Zürich's Tonhalle, Bucharest's Romanian Athenaeum... and with the orchestras of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, etc. Juan Pérez Floristán has participated in masterclasses of Daniel Barenboim, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, Kirill Gerstein, Nelson Goerner, Stephen Kovacevich, among others.

ABOUT The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition

The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition is an international piano competition specializing in the music championed by Arthur Rubinstein (https://arims.org.il/arthur-rubinstein/) to promote the careers of outstanding young pianists. Emanuel Ax won first prize in the first competition. The Rubinstein Competition also commissions works by Israeli composers. Held every three years in Tel Aviv since its founding in 1974 by Jan Jacob Bistritzky. whose activities in organizing musical events began in Poland. He was the director of the Department of International Cultural Affairs in the Polish Ministry of Culture, director of the Chopin Institute and the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Bistritzky immigrated to Israel in 1971 and three years later founded the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, after receiving the consent of Rubinstein, who was his close friend, to give his name to the Competition.

The creation in 1980 of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society was prompted by the tremendous success of the first three Competitions held in Tel Aviv. These contests are recognized as having added significantly to the development of Israel's cultural life and have also received worldwide acclaim as valuable and exciting musical programming at the international level. Counted among the most significant objectives of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society are to promote the art of the piano through world class recitals, concerts and international festivals.

The American Friends of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society (AFARIMS) was founded in 2015 in New York for the purpose of supporting the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition and other Rubinstein Society activities in Israel, as well as providing performance opportunities for the Rubinstein Competition Laureates, in the United States.