Eduard Kunz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eduard Kunz
Eduard Kunz
Background information
Born	(1980-10-30) October 30, 1980 (age 44) Omsk, USSR
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Pianist
Instruments	Piano

Eduard Kunz (Russian: Эдуард Кунц) is a talented Russian pianist. He was born on October 30, 1980, in Omsk, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. He is known for his amazing classical music performances. In 2011, he reached the second round of the famous International Tchaikovsky Competition.

About Eduard Kunz

Eduard was born in Siberia. He started his musical journey early. He studied with Michail Khokhlov at a special school for gifted children called the Gnessin Special School. Later, he continued his studies with Andrei Diev at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Eduard performed with the Omsk Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time when he was just 10 years old!

He also studied in the UK at the Royal Northern College of Music. There, he earned a special diploma with high honors and even won a Gold Medal for his performances.

Eduard's Performances

The BBC Music Magazine once named Eduard Kunz as one of the "10 tomorrow's great pianists." He has performed and been featured on radio with many important orchestras in the United Kingdom. These include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also played with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Hallé, Ulster Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and London Musici orchestras. He has worked with many famous conductors too.

Eduard has also performed with major orchestras in other countries. He played with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie and with The Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He also performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.

He has given solo concerts, called recitals, at famous venues around the world. These include the Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Louvre in Paris, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His performances have been recorded by major classical radio stations like BBC Radio 3, Radio France, and Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Awards and Recognition

Eduard Kunz has won many awards for his piano playing. He has won thirteen first prizes in international piano competitions! Some of these include the First Prize at the George Enescu Competition in Bucharest and Gold Medals at the New Orleans and Paderewski International Piano Competitions.

He has also received other special awards. These include a Silver Medal from The Worshipful Company of Musicians in London and awards from the Hattori and Musical Foundation. He also received the Dame Myra Hess Award and a Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe award. In Russia, he received awards from the Spivakov Foundation and the "Richter" award from the Rostropovich Foundation.

Collaborations and Recordings

Eduard has performed with many other talented musicians. Some of his stage partners include Yulian Rachlin, Patricia Kopachinskaya, Sol Gabetta, and Vilde Frang.

His radio recordings include famous piano concertos. He recorded Piano Concerto No. 10 (Mozart) with the BBC Scottish Orchestra. He also recorded Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven) and Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky) with the Ulster Orchestra Northern Ireland. Other recordings include Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Kunz Piano Academy

Eduard is a co-founder of the Kunz Piano Academy in Brașov, Romania. Twice a year, he invites young artists from all over the world to the academy. They spend a week attending public masterclasses, where they learn from Eduard and other experts. The academy held its fourth edition in 2020.

Eduard is also a Moscow Philharmonic Society Artist and a Verbier Festival laureate. He was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2006 to 2008 and is a Yamaha Artist. He was also featured in the 2010 film A Surprise in Texas, which was about the 2009 Van Cliburn Foundation competition.

Awards and Competitions

Here are some of the awards Eduard Kunz has received:

Year	Award
1997	Spivakov Foundation Award
2002	Richter Award, Rostropovich Foundation
2004	Erik Chisholm Memorial Prize
2004	Royal Northern College of Music's Gold Medal
2004	Dame Myra Hess Award
2004	Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal
2005	Yamaha Music Foundation Award
2005	Hattori Foundation Award
2006	MIFCO Award
2006	BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist
2007	Verbier Festival laureate

Here are some of the competitions Eduard Kunz has won:

Year	Competition	Prize
2000	III Sabitov International Piano Competition	1st prize
2001	IV Horowitz International Piano Competition	3rd prize
2002	III Bitola International Music Competition	1st prize
2002	II Enschede International Piano Competition	1st prize
2002	Grand Konzerteum International Piano Competition	1st prize
2005	Dudley International piano Competition	1st prize
2005	Bromsgrove International musicians Competition	1st prize
2005	Manchester Piano Award	1st prize
2007	XVIII George Enescu International Competition	1st prize
2007	XIII Città di Sulmona International Piano Competition	1st prize
2007	VIII Vietri sul Mare International Piano Competition	Winner
2007	VIII Premi Principat d'Andorra	1st prize
2008	Pinerolo International Piano Competition	1st prize
2009	Van Cliburn International Piano Competition	Jury Discretionary Award
2009	San Nicola di Bari International Piano Competition	Winner
2009	XVII Frechilla-Zuloaga Piano Award	1st prize
2010	22nd New Orleans International Piano Competition	1st prize
2010	8th Paderewski International Piano Competition	1st prize