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Press Releases
Holoubek Wins International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs
For immediate release Contact: Sevan Melikyan
JOEL HOLOUBEK, A FRENCH COIN DEALER WINS JURY AND PRESS AWARDS AT THE INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION FOR OUTSTANDING AMATEURS
Audience Award goes to French Doctor Alexandre Bodak
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, June 13,1999--Thirty year old amateur pianist and numismatist from Paris, France, Joel Holoubek, received both the Jury Award and Press Jury Award at the first International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs’ Awards Ceremony today.
Alexandre Bodak, a French physician from Paris was presented with the Audience Award.
The Jury awarded Holoubek a $2000 check from Steinway & Sons, a concert with a Paris orchestra by the year 2005 offered by the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano, a pair of subscriptions and Official Guest status for the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001 and a complete collection of 25 Pro Piano CDs. The Press Jury Award include a 100 volume (200 CD) set “Great Pianists of the 20th Century” from Philips Music Group.
Bodak received a pair of Justin boots and one complete collection of Pro Piano CDs.
Finalists Luiz Benedini, Paul Doerrfeld, Michael Kimmelman and Philippe Loilier each received a different collection of 15 to 19 CDs from Sony Classical [The complete sets of Horowitz, Gould, Perahia, Serkin, Fleisher, Ax, Bronfman, Kissin, Sandor, and assorted singles].
Semifinalists Melinda Baird, Charles Chien, Henri-Robert Delbeau, Greg Fisher, Lorraine Fuchs, David Hibbard, Len Horovitz, Gregor Lehmiller, Suzanna Perez, Ronald Roberts, Donald Shaw and Carl Tait each received a portable CD player from Radio Shack and a copy of the book “Steinway” by Ronald Ratcliffe from Steinway & Sons.
All Participants received an assortment of CDs, and a copy of the video In Celebration of the Piano-Video Artists International.
The International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano held annually in France, is the first competition of its kind in the United States. The competition, open to amateur musicians 30 and older who do not teach or perform music professionally, drew 143 applications. Of those, 97 were accepted on based on each applicant’s level of experience as exhibited by the curriculum vitae, complete repertoire list, as well as repertoire submitted for the various rounds of the competition. 89 came to Fort Worth to compete.
The group presented a wide variety of professions: in addition to numerous college professors and members of the medical and legal fields, they include a restaurant owner, a meteorologist, an international airline captain, a flight attendant, a court reporter, a Brazilian ambassador to the United States, a French judge with the Court of Appeals, a director of casino games, a Manhattan prime time television anchor, and the chief art critic of The New York Times.
All competitors were considered amateurs in the best sense of that word, not as those who “dabble,” but who have engaged in the study of music as a serious pastime rather than as a profession—sometimes having had to make a choice between their profession and their potential career as a concert artist. All applicants may not earn a living as a professional musician or piano teacher.
The judges for the Competition were music professors performers, music critics and other notable industry professionals. The audience was invited to cast ballots during the finals round. The competition was dedicated to Mrs. Arthur Rubinstein who encouraged the Foundation to initiate this event. Steinway & Sons was the Official Sponsor of the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. Mobil and Radio Shack are Golden Official Corporate Sponsors of the Van Cliburn Foundation. American Airlines, Lexus, Nokia, and the Star-Telegram are Official Corporate Sponsors. The Worthington is the Official Hotel of the Foundation. WRR 101.1 FM is the Official Radio Station Sponsor and KXAS-TV Channel 5 is the Official Television Station.
FINALIST BIOGRAPHIES
Luiz Benedini, Ambassador, Brazil (resides in Miami, FL)
Consul General at the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami since 1994 and recently promoted to Ambassador, Luiz Benedini’s thirty-year diplomatic career has taken him to Brasilia, London, Paraguay, and Washington, DC He has graduate degrees from both the Law and Music Schools of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. First prize winner of several important competitions in Brazil, Mr. Benedini has performed with the Florida Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Belgique, and the National Symphony of Argentina, and has collaborated with Antonio Meneses, cellist, as well as pianists Nelson Freire and Nicolas Economou.
Alexandre Bodak, Physician, Bonneuil-sur-Marne (near Paris), France
Active as both a physician and a professor, Alexandre Bodak is the director of a geriatric care center near Paris. He is also the author of several publications dealing with electron microscopy, cardiology, and the cognitive functions of the elderly. A former student at the National Conservatory of Paris, he has been a prize winner in the Maria Canals Competition, and has performed solo recitals and with orchestras in Belgium, France, and the United States. Dr. Bodak was first prize winner of the 1992 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano in Paris.
Paul Doerrfeld, Office Manager, Algonquin IL
For the past seventeen years, Paul Doerrfeld has worked in various capacities for the Lion Tool & Die Company. He graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in piano performance and has performed with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, Mr. Doerrfeld was a finalist at the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano in Paris.
Joel Holoubek, Numismatist, Paris, France
A dealer in old coins since 1990, Joel Holoubek contributes to and edits catalogues related to his field. Based in Paris, he began studying the piano at age seven and won first prize in the 1994 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. He performed the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de la Garde Republican in April 1999.
Michael Kimmelman, Art Critic, New York City
Michael Kimmelman has been Chief Art Critic for The New York Times since 1990. His book, Portraits: Talking with Artists in the Met, the Modern, the Louvre, and Elsewhere, was published by Random House in 1998. A summa cum laude graduate with a degree in history from Yale University, he received a master’s degree in art history from Harvard. While pursuing Harvard’s Ph.D. program in art history, he began his career as a journalist, working first as a music critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Kimmelman began studying piano with Seymour Bernstein at the age of five, has studied with Ruth Laredo at Yale and has coached with Richard Goode. He considers it a privilege to combine occasional performances with his writing career.
Philippe Loilier, Biologist, Morsang-sur-Oye (near Paris), France
The director of a medical analysis laboratory in the south of France, Philippe Loilier received his doctorate in pharmacology from the Université Paris Descarts. He also holds certificates of special studies in immunology, bacteriology, biochemistry, and hematology. Admitted to the Conservatoire superiure de Musique de Paris in 1969, he was awarded a first medal in piano by unanimous consent. Dr. Loilier was named first prize winner by both the public and the Press Jury at the 1999 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. He performs solo and chamber music recitals regularly.
JOEL HOLOUBEK, A FRENCH COIN DEALER WINS JURY AND PRESS AWARDS AT THE INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION FOR OUTSTANDING AMATEURS
Audience Award goes to French Doctor Alexandre Bodak
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, June 13,1999--Thirty year old amateur pianist and numismatist from Paris, France, Joel Holoubek, received both the Jury Award and Press Jury Award at the first International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs’ Awards Ceremony today.
Alexandre Bodak, a French physician from Paris was presented with the Audience Award.
The Jury awarded Holoubek a $2000 check from Steinway & Sons, a concert with a Paris orchestra by the year 2005 offered by the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano, a pair of subscriptions and Official Guest status for the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001 and a complete collection of 25 Pro Piano CDs. The Press Jury Award include a 100 volume (200 CD) set “Great Pianists of the 20th Century” from Philips Music Group.
Bodak received a pair of Justin boots and one complete collection of Pro Piano CDs.
Finalists Luiz Benedini, Paul Doerrfeld, Michael Kimmelman and Philippe Loilier each received a different collection of 15 to 19 CDs from Sony Classical [The complete sets of Horowitz, Gould, Perahia, Serkin, Fleisher, Ax, Bronfman, Kissin, Sandor, and assorted singles].
Semifinalists Melinda Baird, Charles Chien, Henri-Robert Delbeau, Greg Fisher, Lorraine Fuchs, David Hibbard, Len Horovitz, Gregor Lehmiller, Suzanna Perez, Ronald Roberts, Donald Shaw and Carl Tait each received a portable CD player from Radio Shack and a copy of the book “Steinway” by Ronald Ratcliffe from Steinway & Sons.
All Participants received an assortment of CDs, and a copy of the video In Celebration of the Piano-Video Artists International.
The International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano held annually in France, is the first competition of its kind in the United States. The competition, open to amateur musicians 30 and older who do not teach or perform music professionally, drew 143 applications. Of those, 97 were accepted on based on each applicant’s level of experience as exhibited by the curriculum vitae, complete repertoire list, as well as repertoire submitted for the various rounds of the competition. 89 came to Fort Worth to compete.
The group presented a wide variety of professions: in addition to numerous college professors and members of the medical and legal fields, they include a restaurant owner, a meteorologist, an international airline captain, a flight attendant, a court reporter, a Brazilian ambassador to the United States, a French judge with the Court of Appeals, a director of casino games, a Manhattan prime time television anchor, and the chief art critic of The New York Times.
All competitors were considered amateurs in the best sense of that word, not as those who “dabble,” but who have engaged in the study of music as a serious pastime rather than as a profession—sometimes having had to make a choice between their profession and their potential career as a concert artist. All applicants may not earn a living as a professional musician or piano teacher.
The judges for the Competition were music professors performers, music critics and other notable industry professionals. The audience was invited to cast ballots during the finals round. The competition was dedicated to Mrs. Arthur Rubinstein who encouraged the Foundation to initiate this event. Steinway & Sons was the Official Sponsor of the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. Mobil and Radio Shack are Golden Official Corporate Sponsors of the Van Cliburn Foundation. American Airlines, Lexus, Nokia, and the Star-Telegram are Official Corporate Sponsors. The Worthington is the Official Hotel of the Foundation. WRR 101.1 FM is the Official Radio Station Sponsor and KXAS-TV Channel 5 is the Official Television Station.
FINALIST BIOGRAPHIES
Luiz Benedini, Ambassador, Brazil (resides in Miami, FL)
Consul General at the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami since 1994 and recently promoted to Ambassador, Luiz Benedini’s thirty-year diplomatic career has taken him to Brasilia, London, Paraguay, and Washington, DC He has graduate degrees from both the Law and Music Schools of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. First prize winner of several important competitions in Brazil, Mr. Benedini has performed with the Florida Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Belgique, and the National Symphony of Argentina, and has collaborated with Antonio Meneses, cellist, as well as pianists Nelson Freire and Nicolas Economou.
Alexandre Bodak, Physician, Bonneuil-sur-Marne (near Paris), France
Active as both a physician and a professor, Alexandre Bodak is the director of a geriatric care center near Paris. He is also the author of several publications dealing with electron microscopy, cardiology, and the cognitive functions of the elderly. A former student at the National Conservatory of Paris, he has been a prize winner in the Maria Canals Competition, and has performed solo recitals and with orchestras in Belgium, France, and the United States. Dr. Bodak was first prize winner of the 1992 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano in Paris.
Paul Doerrfeld, Office Manager, Algonquin IL
For the past seventeen years, Paul Doerrfeld has worked in various capacities for the Lion Tool & Die Company. He graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in piano performance and has performed with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, Mr. Doerrfeld was a finalist at the Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano in Paris.
Joel Holoubek, Numismatist, Paris, France
A dealer in old coins since 1990, Joel Holoubek contributes to and edits catalogues related to his field. Based in Paris, he began studying the piano at age seven and won first prize in the 1994 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. He performed the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de la Garde Republican in April 1999.
Michael Kimmelman, Art Critic, New York City
Michael Kimmelman has been Chief Art Critic for The New York Times since 1990. His book, Portraits: Talking with Artists in the Met, the Modern, the Louvre, and Elsewhere, was published by Random House in 1998. A summa cum laude graduate with a degree in history from Yale University, he received a master’s degree in art history from Harvard. While pursuing Harvard’s Ph.D. program in art history, he began his career as a journalist, working first as a music critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Kimmelman began studying piano with Seymour Bernstein at the age of five, has studied with Ruth Laredo at Yale and has coached with Richard Goode. He considers it a privilege to combine occasional performances with his writing career.
Philippe Loilier, Biologist, Morsang-sur-Oye (near Paris), France
The director of a medical analysis laboratory in the south of France, Philippe Loilier received his doctorate in pharmacology from the Université Paris Descarts. He also holds certificates of special studies in immunology, bacteriology, biochemistry, and hematology. Admitted to the Conservatoire superiure de Musique de Paris in 1969, he was awarded a first medal in piano by unanimous consent. Dr. Loilier was named first prize winner by both the public and the Press Jury at the 1999 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. He performs solo and chamber music recitals regularly.
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