Get to Know Our Live Stream Host Rachel Naomi Kudo and Final Rounds/Awards Ceremony Host Magdalena Baczewska
The Chopin Foundation of the United States is eagerly anticipating the kickoff of the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition on February 22. Twenty-five contestants were chosen to participate in the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition and these brilliant young pianists will compete for the $100,000 top prize, the highest award offered by any piano competition in the country. We’re proud to have two dynamic women playing key roles in the competition: livestream host Rachel Naomi Kudo and finals and awards ceremony emcee Magdalena Baczewska.
Those not able to enjoy the excitement of the Competition in person will be able to watch professionally filmed live broadcasts. The host of the live broadcast, Rachel Kudo, is making waves in the music world as well. Kudo was the first prize winner of the Leipzig International Johann Sebastian Bach competition, and is earning rave reviews as an artist with “the highest artistic standards” and “courageous and perfect playing.”
She made her orchestral debut at age sixteen with the Fort Worth and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, graduated from the Juilliard School, and is a top laureate of the 2005, 2010 and 2015 National Chopin Piano Competition. Rachel is also the winner of a Gilmore Young Artist Award and scholarship recipient from the Davidson Institute of Talent Development and Rohm Music Foundation in Japan.
The 30 year-old pianist has performed at Chopin’s birth house “Zelazowa Wola,” Royal Castle in Poland, Salle Cortot in Paris, Musikverein in Vienna, Bachfest in Leipzig, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, Tivoli International Festival in Denmark, Bergen International Festival in Norway, Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel, and Fazioli Concert Hall in Italy.
She works with Leon Fleisher, and studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Joseph Kalichstein, Richard Goode, Gilbert Kalish, and Kum-Sing Lee. The Chopin Foundation is thrilled to have Rachel host the livestream of this year’s competition — and we know that viewers at home will feel the same way!
About Magdalena Baczewska, Host of the Final Rounds and Awards Ceremony
Magdalena Baczewska, a Polish-born pianist and harpsichordist, enjoys a versatile career as an international concert artist, educator, and speaker. We are honored that Magdalena will join The National Competition as the host of our competition final rounds and the awards ceremony emcee.
Baczewska has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, China National Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony. She has collaborated extensively with the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Tan Dun, playing his piano concerti and having recently recorded a DVD of his chamber music.
As the director of the Music Performance Program at Columbia University, she is frequently invited to give keynote speeches and master classes at conservatories and universities worldwide. Some of her most notable appearances have been at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, New York University, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Magdalena is the Artistic Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York City and is a Yamaha artist. With such an impressive resume, Magdalena is the perfect host and emcee for our final rounds. Don’t forget to get your tickets to the final events or tune into the livestream if you’re unable to join us in Miami!