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About Sean (JP)

1984年アメリカのカリフォルニア州サンディエゴで生まれる。年少をハワイで過ごし10歳より ピアノを始めるが、当初より類い稀な才能を見せ、早くも翌年にはリサイタルデビューを果た す。1997年13歳の時、ホノルルのアカデミー・オヴ・アーツにてショパンの24の練習曲全曲演 奏会を成功させ、ハワイで最も注目されるピアニストの一人となった。翌年フィラデルフィア の音楽名門校カーティス音楽院に入り、19歳で卒業するが、その年に卒業生の一人だけに与え られるセルゲイ・ラフマニノフ賞を受賞する。その後、ジュリアード大学大学院で修士号を得 、現在エール大学にて博士号を修得中。
オーケストラとの共演も数多く、これまでにプラハ放送交響楽団、ドイツフランクフルト室内 管弦楽団、ベルギー国立交響楽団、ベルギーロイヤル室内管弦楽団、モロッコ交響楽団、チリ 交響楽団、モンテヴィデオフィルハーモニー管弦楽団、ペルージア交響楽団、ヴィンヤデルマ ール交響楽団、ドミニカン共和国国立交響楽団、ニューアムステルダム交響楽団、インディア ナポリス室内交響楽団、ヒルトンヘッド交響楽団、スーシティ交響楽団、チャールストン交響 楽団、ホノルル交響楽団、NHK室内管弦楽団、読売日本交響楽団、大阪交響楽団、九州交響楽 団、山形交響楽団、仙台フィルハーモニー管弦楽団などと共演した。
独奏や室内音楽においても、カーネギーホール、ケネディーセンター、リンカンセンター、東 京オペラシティー、サル・コルトー(パリ)、パレー・デ・ボーザール(ベルギー)、テラト ル・ロイヤル・デ・ラ・モネ(ベルギー)、グルベンキアンファンデイショー(リスボン)、 ショパン協会(ワルシャワ)、テアトロ・カイオ・メリソ(イタリア)、ソール・アーツセンタ ー(韓国)、香港シティーホール(香港)、モハメッドシアター(モロッコ)、テアトロ・ソ リス(ウルグアイ)、テアトロ・デル・ラゴ(チリ)などで演奏。
コンクール受賞暦も数多く、エリザベート王妃国際音楽コンクール(ベルギー)、ルイス・シ ガール国際音楽コンクール(チリ)(優勝)、ヴァンドーム国際ピアノコンクール(ポルトガル )、ヒルトンヘッド国際ピアノコンクール(アメリカ)、全米ショパンコンクール、アイオワ ・ピアノコンクール、ショパン国際ピアノコンクール太平洋地域部門、第2回仙台国際音楽コン クール、アメリカン・ピアノ協会のコンクール、ジーナ・バックアワー国際ピアノコンクール ・ジュニア部門での上位入賞。
ワシントン・ポストにはケナードの演奏は「強烈な、深く関わった音楽の創作」、彼は「力強 く、光を放つピアニスト」と評し、アメリカン・レコードガイドでは、彼は「ショパンの前奏曲 を今までに録音したほとんどのピアニストより優雅で洞察力のある演奏する。」、また「彼は 力強いロマンチックな音を持ち、大胆な旋律的なヴィジョンを表現する。」と評している。フ ァンフェアーでは、「彼の演奏は生き生きとして煌いている。」と評している。
モーストリー・クラシックは「フレーズの中に自然な息遣いが落ち着いている。」、雑誌ショ パンでは「若々しく、力強いエネルギーに満ちた演奏を聴かせ、会場を埋め尽くした聴衆から の熱い拍手が送られた。」、音楽の友では「ケナードは明るく健康的な音楽性を、のびのびと 発揮した。どの曲もしっかりと弾き込んであり、まとめ方が美しいし、テクニックの冴えも注 目される。」と記している。
日本愛好家であり、2011年東日本大震災直後の5月にはジュリアード音楽院の仲間たちと共に被 災地を訪れチャリティコンサートを開催、以来毎年被災地を訪れてボランティア活動に積極的 に参加している。


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About Sean

American pianist Sean Kennard has won top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), the International Music Competition of Vina del Mar (Chile), the Vendome International Piano Competition (Portugal), the Sendai International Music Competition (Japan), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (USA), the National Chopin Competition, the Iowa Piano Competition, the American Pianists Association, and the International Chopin Competition of the Pacific.

The Washington Post praised Kennard’s “powerful and involved music making,” describing him as “a strong luminous pianist.” His 2011 debut album received a rave review in American Record Guide, which pronounced it “a hidden gem,” attesting to its “perfect blend of lyricism and romantic passion,” “huge romantic sound, and bold melodic vision.” It proclaimed that he “plays the dickens out of the Stravinsky [Three Movements from Petrushka]” and “plays Chopin’s Preludes with more poise and vision than most pianists who have recorded them.” Fanfare affirmed the enthusiastic reception, naming the album “a very desirable disc” and citing “Kennard’s mastery of Chopin’s idiom,” its “impression of complete effortlessness” and “emotional responsiveness.” The review characterized his playing as “full of life and sparkle,” summing up: “while I wouldn't necessarily say that Kennard outclasses Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, Moravec, Ohlsson…in this repertoire, he surely equals them.” His most recent disc featuring sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti was released by Naxos in 2017, and he is scheduled to record a new album for Delos in 2018, featuring works by 20th century American composers.

Sean has appeared as soloist with orchestras around the world including the Prague Radio Symphony, NHK Chamber Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Chamber Orchestra of Frankfurt, Morocco Philharmonic, Chile Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Philharmonic, Sinfonia Perugina (Italy), National Symphony Orchestra (Dominican Republic), and many others throughout the United States and abroad. He has appeared in recital and chamber music in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Salle Cortot (Paris), Palais des Beaux-arts (Brussels), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Chopin Society (Warsaw), Teatro Caio Melisso (Spoleto), Sala dei Notari (Perugia), Tokyo Opera City Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Hong Kong City Hall, Mohamed V Theater (Morocco), Teatro del Lago (Chile), and many more.

Upcoming events include recitals and master classes in Australia, China, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and throughout the United States, guest artist and faculty member at the 2018 Costa Rica Piano Festival and Competition, and adjudicating the 2018 Steinway and Sons Piano Competition. He is the artistic director of the Great Pianists at Stetson recital series and the Stetson Piano Scholars festival.

Sean’s first teacher was Ellen Masaki. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2004. In his final year at Curtis he won the institute’s Sergei Rachmaninoff Award, given to one graduating pianist each year. After subsequent work with pianist Enrique Graf he received a Master of Music from the Juilliard School (studios of Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald) and spent the following two years in the studio of Richard Goode. In 2016 he completed the residential portion of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at Yale University working with Boris Berman and joined the faculty at Stetson University’s School of Music as Assistant Professor and Piano Area Coordinator in 2017.


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ABOUT SEAN

Sean Kennard has won top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), the International Music Competition of Viña del Mar (Chile), the Vendome International Piano Competition (Portugal), the Sendai International Music Competition (Japan), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (USA), the National Chopin Competition, the Iowa Piano Competition, the American Pianists Association, and the International Chopin Competition of the Pacific.

The Washington Post praised Kennard’s “powerful and involved music making,” describing him as “a strong luminous pianist.” His 2011 debut album received a rave review in American Record Guide, which pronounced it “a hidden gem,” attesting to its “perfect blend of lyricism and romantic passion,” “huge romantic sound, and bold melodic vision.” It proclaimed that he “plays the dickens out of the Stravinsky [Three Movements from Petrushka]” and “plays Chopin’s Preludes with more poise and vision than most pianists who have recorded them.” Fanfare affirmed the enthusiastic reception, naming the album “a very desirable disc” and citing “Kennard’s mastery of Chopin’s idiom,” its “impression of complete effortlessness” and “emotional responsiveness.” The review characterized his playing as “full of life and sparkle,” summing up: “while I wouldn't necessarily say that Kennard outclasses Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, Moravec, Ohlsson…in this repertoire, he surely equals them.”

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About Sean

American pianist Sean Kennard has won top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), the International Music Competition of Vina del Mar (Chile), the Vendome International Piano Competition (Portugal), the Sendai International Music Competition (Japan), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (USA), the National Chopin Competition, the Iowa Piano Competition, the American Pianists Association, and the International Chopin Competition of the Pacific.

The Washington Post praised Kennard’s “powerful and involved music making,” describing him as “a strong luminous pianist.” His 2011 debut album received a rave review in American Record Guide, which pronounced it “a hidden gem,” attesting to its “perfect blend of lyricism and romantic passion,” “huge romantic sound, and bold melodic vision.” It proclaimed that he “plays the dickens out of the Stravinsky [Three Movements from Petrushka]” and “plays Chopin’s Preludes with more poise and vision than most pianists who have recorded them.” Fanfare affirmed the enthusiastic reception, naming the album “a very desirable disc” and citing “Kennard’s mastery of Chopin’s idiom,” its “impression of complete effortlessness” and “emotional responsiveness.” The review characterized his playing as “full of life and sparkle,” summing up: “while I wouldn't necessarily say that Kennard outclasses Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, Moravec, Ohlsson…in this repertoire, he surely equals them.” His most recent disc featuring sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti was released by Naxos in 2017, and he is scheduled to record a new album for Delos in 2018, featuring works by 20th century American composers.

Sean has appeared as soloist with orchestras around the world including the Prague Radio Symphony, NHK Chamber Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Chamber Orchestra of Frankfurt, Morocco Philharmonic, Chile Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Philharmonic, Sinfonia Perugina (Italy), National Symphony Orchestra (Dominican Republic), and many others throughout the United States and abroad. He has appeared in recital and chamber music in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Salle Cortot (Paris), Palais des Beaux-arts (Brussels), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Chopin Society (Warsaw), Teatro Caio Melisso (Spoleto), Sala dei Notari (Perugia), Tokyo Opera City Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Hong Kong City Hall, Mohamed V Theater (Morocco), Teatro del Lago (Chile), and many more.

Upcoming events include recitals and master classes in Australia, China, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and throughout the United States, guest artist and faculty member at the 2018 Costa Rica Piano Festival and Competition, and adjudicating the 2018 Steinway and Sons Piano Competition. He is the artistic director of the Great Pianists at Stetson recital series and the Stetson Piano Scholars festival.

Sean’s first teacher was Ellen Masaki. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2004. In his final year at Curtis he won the institute’s Sergei Rachmaninoff Award, given to one graduating pianist each year. After subsequent work with pianist Enrique Graf he received a Master of Music from the Juilliard School (studios of Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald) and spent the following two years in the studio of Richard Goode. In 2016 he completed the residential portion of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at Yale University working with Boris Berman and joined the faculty at Stetson University’s School of Music as Assistant Professor and Piano Area Coordinator in 2017.