Ayane Shoda
Ayane Shoda (b.1996) started playing the piano at the age of 3, and by the time she was 12 she had participated in 14 competitions and received 10 first prizes.
At the age of 15, she began to participate in the senior category, winning Third Prize at the Osaka International Music Competition and at the age of 16, she was a semifinalist at the Epinal International Concour. In 2015, she received the First Prize at the Malaga International Music Competition, 2016, and First Prize at the Valsesia International Competition. She received Third Prize at the Mauro Paolo Monopoli Prize. In 2019, she received the Grand Prix, First Prize, Katsarava Prize, ANA Prize, and the Russian Music Prize at the 1st Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition by unanimous decision of the jury.
She began studying Russian piano technique at the age of 13. In 2016, she held her first concert in Malaga, Spain, and since then she has periodically held concerts and recitals in Tokyo and Osaka. She was a participant in Professor Dina Yoffe’s master classes in France, Austria, Spain, and Japan, and in 2017, she participated in the master classes of Professor Eliso Virsaladze, Professor Billy Eidi, and Professor Guigla Katsarava. She was a special president scholarship student of the Tokyo College of Music. After graduation, Ayane began teaching the Russian piano technique she had learned to her students.
As a Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition prizewinner, she was scheduled to perform a recital in Paris in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it is still postponed. She currently works at the Mori Music Office, serving as a professional pianist and piano tutor. She is also an accomplished accompanist to violinists, vocalists, and instrumental soloists, and in November 2022, she performed a critically acclaimed concert with a German Lied singer on repertory including Schubert, Strauss, and Mahler.
Virtual First Round
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 23 in B Major, BWV 868
Beethoven: Sonata No. 21 in C Major, “Waldstein,” Op. 53
I. Allegro con brio
II. Introduzione. Adagio molto
III. Rondo. Allegretto moderato—Prestissimo
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4
Rachmaninoff: Étude-Tableau No. 1 in c minor, Op. 39
Liszt: Etudes d’exécution trancendante d’aprés Paganini, 1st version No.3, “Campanella”
In-Person Second Round
Barber: Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 26
I. Allegro energico
II. Allegro vivace e leggero
III. Adagio mesto
IV. Fuga: Allegro con spirito
Carl Vine: Resolve
Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in f-sharp minor, Op. 11
I. Introduzione: Un poco adagio—Allegro vivace
II. Aria: Senza passione, ma espressivo
III. Scherzo: Allegrissimo—Intermezzo: Lento
IV. Finale: Allegro un poco maestoso
Semifinal Round – Chamber Music
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in d minor, Op. 108
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Un poco presto e con sentimento
IV. Presto agitato
Final Round
Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op. 23
I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso—Allegro con spirito
II. Andantino semplice—Prestissimo—Tempo I
III. Allegro con fuoco—Molto meno mosso—Allegro vivo
2022 Participants
Meet the People!
Recognizing the Board of Directors, distinguished jury, guest artists, competitors, finalists, and more.