Grigory Gruzman (Germany, jury chairman)
In his younger years this Russian pianist and Weimar professor attended the special music school for highly gifted children at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Even during his school days he performed over 300 times in his home town as well as other Russian cities. He first completed his studies at the conservatory in Jerusalem followed by the Musikhochschule in Freiburg. As a soloist, chamber musician (for example as a member of the Shostakovich Trio) and director of international master classes he has performed since 1974 in almost every European country, in the Far East, in Australia, Latin America and the USA more than 1000 times. His arrangement of Pictures at an Exhibition from Modest Mussorgsky for piano trio has drawn worldwide attention similar to his CDs of Frédéric Chopin’s etudes and the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, George Gershwin and Friedrich Gulda. From 1998 to 2006 Gruzman was professor at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg and was then appointed as professor for piano at the Musikhochschule Franz Liszt Weimar in 2006. As an educator Gruzman can look back on the achievements of his students, whom have become the award winners of many national and international competitions. In additional he has appeared as the artistic director and jury chairman of three international Rachmaninov piano competitions for young pianists.