Jury

Born into a family of musicians, pianist Jan Jiracek von Arnim was described by BBC Music Magazine as one of the leading pianists of his generation. He won the first prize at the Steinway Competition in Hamburg at age ten, and made his formal debut the following year in his hometown of Hannover (Germany), performing a piano concerto by Mozart. Mr. Jiracek has since performed extensively throughout Europe, including recitals at the Herkulessaal Munich, Philharmonie Berlin, Steinway Hall London, Salle Cortot Paris, Palau de la musica Barcelona, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Musikverein Vienna, Musikhalle Hamburg and the Gewandhaus Leipzig, as well as orchestral appearances with the Berlin and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia of England.

First prize winner of the prestigious Concours de Genève in 2001, Roland Krüger performed in many important international venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Philharmonic Hall of Cologne, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Casino in Basel, the Beethoven Hall in Bonn. As a soloist, he worked with orchestras such as Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Belgique, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, Basler Sinfonie-Orchester and Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn under conductors like Fabio Luisi, Dennis Russell Davies, Eiji Oue or Marc Soustrot.

Joanna Ławrynowicz is one of the greatest Polish pianists. She was born in Warsaw in the family that had been involved in music for many generations . At the age of four, she started to learn to play the piano and her first educator was Hanna Lachertowa. She graduated with distinction from The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in Professor Teresa Manasterska's class. After graduation, she continued her education with Professor Halina Czerny-Stefańska until her death in 2001. She has won many prestigious international piano competitions, including The Steinway&Sons Competition for Young Pianists (Berlin 1990),The International Chopin Competition( Darmstadt 1999), The International Piano Competition of Halina Czerny-Stefańska in Ajigasawa (Japan 2000) and The International Piano Competition "Art Livre" in Sao Paulo (Brazil 2001) .

German pianist Gesa Luecker made her concerto debut aged 12. She has been a prize-winner in national and international competitions and has performed in major halls such as the NDR Radio Hall Hannover, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall New York, Wigmore Hall London, Oriental Arts Center Shanghai, etc. Gesa gained the soloist diploma from the University of Music and Drama Hannover under the guidance of Martin Dörrie and Matti Raekallio and received further inspiration from musicians such as Arie Vardi, Fabio Bidini, and Jerome Rose. Her CDs are published at Genuine and Wergo Label.

One of the most outstanding Polish pianists and professors, laureate of five international piano competitions. He completed piano studies at the Frederick Chopin Music University in Warsaw in the class of prof. Jan Ekier. The opportunity of having artistic contact with Arthur Rubinstein and Witold Lutoslawski also had a huge impact on the final development of his artistic personality. His success achieved at the 8th Frederick Chopin International Piano Competition opened to Piotr Paleczny the doors of many prestigious world concert halls. Receiving, in company of Garrick Ohlsson and Mitsuko Uchida - the Third Prize, the Special Prize for the best performance of a Polonaise and the Witold Małcużyński Prize his career, which the artist has enjoyed constantly until now performing concerts on all continents.