Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation

The mission of the Dranoff Foundation is to introduce, to educate, and to invite the widest possible audience to the world of music, with special emphasis on four-hand chamber music for piano. For over two decades, the Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation has worked to bring about a renaissance of interest in music for two pianos and has nurtured the winning teams by managing them for three years following the Competition. In leading international music festivals - including Spoleto, Tanglewood, Salzburg and Ravinia, the magic of two piano music is introduced to a multitude of new listeners. For the first time, majors in duo pianism have been established at leading conservatories, including the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools of Music, London’s Royal Guild Hall and The Hochscuhle in Stuttgart.
History
The Foundation was founded in 1986 by Loretta Dranoff as a tribute to her late husband, Murray, with whom she performed as an internationally acclaimed two-piano team. The Foundation's programs are devoted to the two piano literature and the continuation of the renaissance of the masterpieces of this music. They provide a wide range of opportunities for professionals, students and the lay audience to discover and experience the extraordinary music created for both the two piano and one piano (four hand) genres. The programs continue to expand, as local, national and international philanthropic support and recognition increases. The Foundation today is known worldwide as The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation.
Foundation Programs
“The International Two Piano Competition”The Foundation is the organizer of the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition. Every three years, the world’s top two piano teams meet in Miami in order to compete in a one week-long event that features two piano recitals, piano four hand recitals as well as an orchestra appearance for the three teams chosen to be the finalists.
Open to artists from 18-32, the Competition was the first of its kind in the world. Applicants are initially judged by videotape and semi-finalists are also heard in regional live auditions in music capitals of the world. The semi-finalists come to Miami to compete before a distinguished jury. The Dranoff International Two Piano Competition winners receive significant monetary prizes plus concert engagements.
“A Family of Music Lovers”
The Dranoff Foundation’s “A Family of Music Lovers” project brings award winning piano teams to South Florida to play classical, jazz and contemporary piano performances in Dade County middle and high schools. Following the program, participating schools issue vouchers for the student and his
her family to attend a concert played in the community
The Alvin Perlman Memorial Commission of an Original work
Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation also introduces new works into the two piano repertoire. In tandem with the International Piano Competition, a new work for the two piano medium is commissioned each year. Some of them include Marcel Bergman - Urban Pulse, Frederick Kaufmann - Yin and Yang, A Dialogue Between Two Grand Pianos, Michel Legrand - “Variations Concertantes Sur Le Nom De “Dranoff”, Morton Gould - “Two Pianos”, William Bolcom - “Recuerdos”, Ned Rorem- “Six Variations for Two Pianos”, John Corigliano - “Chiaroscuro”, Robert Xavier Rodriguez -
“Bachanale”, Lowell Liebermann - “Three Lullabies” and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett - “Lilliburlero Variations for Two Pianos”.
Piano Slam
"Piano Slam" was an event involving the 1995 Dranoff International Two Piano Competition winners Maarten and Jeroen van Veen in a Classical two-piano concert with the Poetry of Dade County children. Performed by acclaimed spoken word artists Deborah Magdalena and Mecca aka Grimo, the concert took place on May 5, at Adrienne Arsht Center, Knight Concert Hall in Miami. The event was the culmination of a lengthy process which involved hundreds of middle school students taking part in a poetry competition. Eight winners were chosen, and they were given the opportunity of performimg their winning poems during the "Piano Slam". This resulted in an eclectic blend of spoken word, classical piano and D.J music. The event was free for the public and it was attended by middle school students and families from the Miami inner city schools.
Dranoff Winners Performances
Former Dranoff winners continue to introduce duo pianism world wide, via live performances, recordings and community outreach activities. Varshavsky & Shapira Piano Duo performed at the Steinway Hall in New York and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo performed at Schwetzingen Festival in Germany, at the Radio Cologne Great Concert Hall and performed with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. They were featured in a Musical Online Magazine in the winter of 2000. In 2009, they were invited to perform at the prestigious Woodstock Mozart Festival in Chicago, Illinois. 2008 Dranoff Semi Finalists Stephanie Ho and Saar Arhuvia performed at the famous Le Poisson Rouge in New York that received an enthusiastic review by the New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini.
Competition Jurors
Ronit Amir,
Robert Chumbley,
John Contiguglia,
Richard Contiguglia,
Ivan Davis,
Ruth Greenfield,
Leonid Hambro,
Shirley Irek,
Jack Lowe,
Jerome Lowenthal,
Susan Wadsworth,
Charles Wadsworth,
Second 1989 1991
Vitya Vronsky Babin,
Martin Bookspan,
John Contiguglia,
Richard Contiguglia,
Ivan Davis,
Lazar Gosman,
Ruth Greenfield,
Joseph Horowitz,
Harold C. Schonberg,
Fourth - 1993
Martin Bookspan,
John Contiguglia,
Richard Contiguglia,
Ivan Davis,
Ruth Greenfield,
Joseph Horowitz,
Bracha Eden,
Alexander Tamir,
Ferenc Rados,
Takahiro Sonoda,
Gaby Casadesus,
Dominique Morel,
Douglas Nemish,
Fifth - 1995
Luiz Fernando Benedini,
Ivan Davis,
Bracha Eden,
Alexander Tamir,
Norma Fisher,
Arianna Goldina,
Remy Loumbrozo,
Kenneth Jean,
Charles Wadsworth,
Ruth Greenfield,
Sixth - 1997
Youngshin An,
Lillian Barreto,
Byron Belt,
John Contiguglia,
Richard Contiguglia,
Bracha Eden,
Alexander Tamir,
Ruth Greenfield,
Hans-Peter Stenzl,
Volker Stenzl,
Charles Wadsworth,
Seventh - 1999
Dr. Gustav Alink,
Fredrick Kaufman,
Paul Pollei,
Anne Louise Turgeon,
Edward Turgeon,
Byron Belt,
Bracha Eden,
Alexander Tamir,
Charles Wadsworth,
Eighth - 2001
Michael Beroff,
John Contiguglia,
Richard Contiguglia,
Ivan Davis,
Kemal Gekic,
Grant Johannesen,
Andrew Raeburn,
Duo van Veen ,
Ninth - 2003
Luiz Fernando Benedini,
David Dubal,
Hobert Earle,
Ilya Itin,
Elizabeth Bergmann,
Marcel Bergmann,
Robert Sherman,
Tenth - 2005
Leonid Hambro,
Shao-Yin Huang,
Sebastian Euler,
Leslie Kinton,
Frank Levy,
Paul Pollei,
Leonid Treer,

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