Jury

Ilja Scheps completed his studies at the Moscow “P. I. Tschaikowsky” Conservatory under Prof. Lev Vlassenko and Prof. Evgenij Schenderowitch. From 1982 to 1992 I. Scheps was soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. He gave concerts with orchestras and solo recitals and also appearing as accompanist of renowned singers and instrumentalists there. This resulted in his acquiring a large repertoire, including works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Skrjabin, Prokofjeff and Tschaikowsky, as well those by Schnittke, Silvestrov and Denisov. At the same time I. Scheps taught at the Moscow “P. I. Tschaikowsky” Conservatory. From 1992 I. Scheps lives in Germany. Besides his performing in many countries round of the world he is an enthusiastic pedagogue. Many years I. Scheps was a professor at the Rostock Music University and at the Darmstadt Music Academy. Since 2003 I. Scheps is a professor of the Musikhochschule in Cologne/Aachen (Cologne Music University). Students of Prof. Scheps are winner of important international piano competitions so as exclusive artists of “Sony” and “Universal” Records. I. Scheps also conducts workshops and master classes at the international music academies and as a visiting professor in many universities all over the world. Prof. Scheps was invited as a honour professor to give master classes in Beijing Central Conservatory as well Shanghai, Tianjin and Sichuan Conservatories of Music in China. Since more than ten years Prof. Scheps is visiting Professor in Shenzhen Arts School as well in Central Conservatory of Music Gulangyu Piano School in Xiamen. Prof. Scheps is a jury member of some most important international piano competitions – Shenzhen Int. Piano Concerts Competition (China), “Top of the World” and “Grieg” Int. Piano Competition (Norway), “Chopin” Int. Piano Competition in Darmstadt (Germany), Int. Piano Competition in Madrid (Spain), Scriabin Int. Piano Competition in Grosseto (Italy), International German Piano Award and many others. Ilja Scheps has recorded more than 10 CDs with “MCA” (USA); “Le Chant du Monde” (France), “Melodia” (Russia), “Coriolan/Teldec”, “Deutsche Welle”, “ECM-Records”, CPO (Germany). Since 2022 Prof. Scheps teaches at the Internationale Music Academy Anton Rubinstein in Düsseldorf.

Italian pianist Gabriele Leporatti actively performs throughout Europe, US and China appearing in many prestigious venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, NDR Hannover, He Luting Hall Shanghai and in festivals such as the Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Festival de Torroella de Montgrí, International Keyboard Institute & Festival New York, Tbilisi Piano Fest;  2016 marks his debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Thomas Søndergård.  Gabriele´s schedule in the 2021/22 season includes orchestral appearances with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana as well as solo and chamber music concerts in Europe and abroad.
A keen chamber musician, he has been concertizing with ensembles such as the Trio Suleika and with a variety of internationally renowned soloists; moreover, he regularly appears in duo with his wife Gesa Lücker.  Several of his performances have been broadcasted on radio and television including BBC Radio 3 (UK), SAFm (South Africa), BR Klassik, RBB, SWR 2, WDR 3 (Germany), NPO Radio 4, Avrotros (Netherlands), SRF2 (Switzerland), Rai3 (Italy).
In 2015 he founds Etera Classics – a record label with a distinct authorial connotation and a publishing division dedicated to the promotion of young artists – for which he records his latest three commercial albums.  Gabriele´s discography includes both solo and chamber music recordings – a monographic Brahms CD and one featuring piano works by Schumann and Respighi – along with a quatre-mains album with Fabio Bidini (True Sounds) and one with violist Yuri Bondarev.  Spring 2019 sees the release of his latest solo CD titled “Wien”. Gabriele´s passionate playing style, full of aesthetic, sensibility and depth, shows the influence of his teachers and mentors Maria Tipo, Fabio Bidini and Joaquin Achucarro. Currently on faculty at the International Music Academy Anton Rubinstein in Dusseldorf, he regularly gives masterclasses and lectures worldwide, with several of his students being prize winners at international piano competitions.  In addition, he is active as an artistic advisor at concert series and festivals and as a jury member in international competitions.

Dr. Lukas Beck is the Artistic Director of the Ruhr Piano Festival, described as the “world’s most important piano festival” (Fono Forum). Previously, he served as a classical music programmer at the Southbank Centre in London, head of artist relations at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and played a key role in the development and opening of the Blaibach Concert Hall in the Bavarian Forest. In 2021, he earned his PhD from the University of Oxford with a dissertation on the chamber music of Robert Schumann and received numerous scholarships. In addition to studying musicology at universities in Munich, Dublin, and Oxford, he studied piano with Prof. Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy (University of Music and Performing Arts Munich) and Prof. Anthony Byrne (Royal Irish Academy of Music), as well as philosophy and music education. He is a prizewinner of the Audrey Chisholm Sonata Cup at the PianoFest Dublin and has published on Robert and Clara Schumann with Cambridge University Press.