| Finland
ERIK THOMAS TAWASTSTJERNA is professor emeritus at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. He began his musical education in Helsinki and then continued his studies in Moscow, Vienna and New York, also participated in masterclasses given by Wilhelm Kempff and Dmitri Bashkirov. He won the second prize at the International Maj Lind Piano Competition in Helsinki, 1968 and has since given concerts all around the world. As a soloist he has appeared with major orchestras in Finland, performing such works as S. Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 and L. Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety (Symphony No. 2). Mr. Tawaststjerna has made numerous recordings, among which the record of four ballades by F. Chopin and a series of 8 recordings of the complete piano music of J. Sibelius. Many of his students have received top prizes in international piano competitions and now work as professors in major European universities.
Prof. Tawaststjerna has been on the jury of numerous competitions, such as the Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona, the International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, and the M. K. Čiurlionis Competition in Vilnius. He has given masterclasses, among other places, at the Guildhall School of Music in London, the University of the Arts in Berlin, and the Tokyo College of Music. He has worked as a visiting professor at the Singapore National University. He was also named Professor of the Year by the Finnish Professors’ League.
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