The Watford International Piano Competition
in memory of Christopher Duke
The 2025 Competition Final will be on Saturday 29th March from 12-5pm
for enquiries please contact melis@watfordfestival.co.uk
The final will be held at St Mary's Church, Church Street, Watford WD18 0EG
Entry FREE for under 25s, £18 for adult tickets
Jury: Ian Jones and Ann Martin-Davis
Ian Jones
Ian Jones FRCM is Deputy Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music, London, and fellowship of the RCM was conferred on him by His Majesty King Charles III in 2014.
He is one of the UK’s most sought-after piano teachers and is frequently invited to give masterclasses in renowned institutions worldwide, including recent residencies at Universität des Künste in Berlin, Shanghai Conservatory and several USA universities such as Northwestern, Michigan, Rutgers, UCLA and San Francisco Conservatory. He is Artistic Director of the WPTA International Piano Competition, International Advisor for the Isidor Basic International Piano Competition in Serbia and often serves on the juries of other international piano competitions.
His career as Steinway Artist takes him around the globe to perform as guest artist and give masterclasses at numerous international music festivals. His own teachers, during studies in London, USA, Canada and France, included Maria Curcio, Gyorgy Sebok, Phyllis Sellick, Jerome Lowenthal and Alain Planès.
He has broadcast for radio and television networks internationally and his World
Première performances and recordings of music by British composer Rebecca Clarke received much enthusiastic attention.
Classic FM magazine wrote that “Jones possesses the ‘pearl’ touch that marks out the finest Chopin exponents...his timing remains immaculate whatever the technical pressure.” International Piano praised “ magically veiled sonorities and exquisite pianissimo...reminiscent of 1970s Pollini” and Gramophone noted his ability to “transform passages often treated as superficial rhetoric into something thoughtful and communing”. BBC Music Magazine described his playing as having “a lyrical elegance and unselfconscious purity of expression.”
He was music advisor and composer/performer for the Oscar-nominated film Hilary and Jackie and has also written and performed music for France’s two national theatres in Paris and Strasbourg. “A fine sense of line, volatility and rapt concentration informs Ian Jones’s performances” Classicalsource.com
Ann Martin-Davis
Ann Martin-Davis’s love of 20th century and contemporary art crosses all genres and much of her career has been spent exploring new and appealing ways of presenting solo piano and chamber music.
Ann studied at the Royal College of Music with Phyllis Sellick and in her second year won the College’s premier piano prize, the Chappell Medal. A series of awards led to a South Bank debut and she subsequently won a scholarships to study with Arie Vardi in Hanover and Gyorgy Sebok at the Banff School in Canada.
At this time Ann worked with Polish composer Witold Lutosławski and her subsequent disc of his solo piano and chamber works was described as ‘beautiful and exquisite’ by BBC Music Magazine. Her recent disc of Ravel for Guild has also been critically acclaimed; described by Gramophone as having a ‘delicacy and simplicity; it’s tender melancholy are thoroughly convincing.’
Ann is co-director of ‘Piano at Le Maillard’ which offers advanced coaching and piano retreats at her home in the Charente. She has been described as ‘a compelling ambassador for classical music’ by The Times newspaper and over the last five years she has trained over four thousand piano teachers for professional associations throughout South East Asia, China, America and the UK.
As well as her music, Ann is a keen gardener, having high hopes this year for her tomato varietal ‘big boy.’ She is also chef and playmate to Gus and Sofie, her two mischievous wire-haired Dachshunds.
'A distinguished scholar and pianist’ Gramophone Magazine
2024's Watford International Piano Competition
In memory of Christopher Duke
Was held on Saturday 4th May 2024
Fist Prize: Adrian Raphael Henke
Second Prize: Yang Hu
Joint Third Prize: Aida Lahlou and Anson Tang
Jury: Deniz Arman Gelenbe and Lara Melda
2023's Watford International Piano Competition
In memory of Christopher Duke
Was held on Sunday 30th April 2023
Fist Prize: Zvjezdan Vojvodic
Joint Second Prize: Jeremy Chan and Michael Tao
Jury: Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman
2022's Watford International Piano Competition
In memory of Christopher Duke
Was held on Sunday 8th May 2022
At Clarendon Muse, Watford
Joint 1st Prize Rose McLachlan
Joint 1st Prize Yiyi Su
3rd Prize Tommy Tai
Jury: Gordon Fergus-Thompson & Margaret Fingerhut
2019 Competition:
1st prize John Lee
2nd prize XueLin Xie
3rd prize Mika Inukai
2018 Competition:
1st prize Edward Leung
2nd prize Kyle Nash-Baker
3rd prize Raymond Yiu
Special commendation: XueLin Xie
2017 competition:
1st prize Weng Soon Tee
2nd prize Misa Saka
3rd prize Chi-Hoi Cheung
2015 competition:
1st prize Jina Shim
2nd prize Liga Korne
3rd prize Scott MacIsaac
Recent winners of the Competition who have gone on to busy international careers include Alexander Ullman and Ji Liu (both YCAT Artists in 2015 and 2016) and Riyad Nicolas (The Countess of Munster Musical Trust).
