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One evening of three concertos with orchestra performed by world-class pianists Five world-class artists at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center
SPECIAL JAZZ EVENT Six brilliant pianists making their debut in the Discovery Series of Miami Beach Two great pianists in conversation with our audience
Inspired by the triumphant beginning of our “Concerto Evening” three seasons ago the Miami International Piano Festival (MIPF) is thrilled to present once again an international showcase of THREE impressive pianists under the leadership of Concertmaster and Conductor IGOR GRUPPMAN. Mr. Gruppman returns to Miami for the second time after 20 years. He was the Associate Conductor and Concertmaster of the Florida Philharmonic from 1997 to 2003.
The THREE Pianists featured in the Grand Opening of the 2026 Season of the Miami International Piano Festival are: ILYA ITIN (Russia) Winner of the 1996 Leeds Competition, DMITRY ABLOGIN (Russia) regarded as one of the most brilliant and creative keyboard artists of his generation and ALEXANDER GAVRYLYUK (Ukraine), a stunningly virtuosic pianist, internationally recognized for his electrifying and poetic performances.
This performance will be followed by 5 recitals of Five world-class pianists at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center, six extraordinary artists making their debut at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach and two recitals by two, artists in a new series “Artists in Conversation” at the Woman’s Club in Miami Beach.
NEW this Season is a special JAZZ EVENING featuring BILL CHARLAP the legendary jazz pianist joined by jazz virtuoso BRANDON GOLDBERG.
Our international talent is guaranteed to captivate our audience who are classical music lovers. An experience impossible to replicate. Nothing can substitute for the experience of being there when one marvel appears after another.
As part of the MIPF Winter Academy the MIPFA is also presenting a series of SIX consecutive recitals in January sponsored by the City of Miami Beach and the Cadet Hotel.
FESTIVAL SEASON 2025 – 2026
Aventura Cultural Series / “Classical Sundays at FIVE”
October 19, 2025
CONCERTO NIGHT: Miami International Piano Festival Orchestra
IGOR GRUPPMAN Conductor
Featured Pianists:
DMITRY ABLOGIN (Russia)
Chopin Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
ILYA ITIN (Russia)
Beethoven Concerto No. 4 in G major Op. 58
ALEXANDER GAVRYLYUK (Ukraine)
Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
November 17, 2025
DIMITRY ABLOGIN (Russia) “Dmitry is one of the very few pianists I have heard in the last years to have a real, authentic individual voice in music making. He is a musician of integrity and unusually high sensitivity.” Piotr Anderszewski
L.V BEETHOVEN Six Bagatelles, op. 126
- MENDELSSHON Andante con variazioni in E-flat major, Op. 82-
Six Songs without words, Op. 67
Andante cantabile e Presto agitato
- CHOPIN Nocturne cis-Moll, Op. 27 no. 1
Nocturne Des-Dur, Op. 27 No. 2
- N. HUMMEL Piano Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp minor, Op. 81
January 11, 2026
Two Piano Extravaganza
KEMAL GEKIC (Croatia) “Gekic rides the charismatic edge of a genius” Boston Globe
KRISTINA MILLER (Russia) “A Profound musician and astonishing virtuoso” Giselle Brodsky
- RACHMANINOV Symphonic Dances
- LUTOSLAWSKI Variations on a Theme by Paganini
- RACHMANINOV Suite No. 1
February 22, 2026
ALEXANDER GAVRYLYUK (Ukraine)
“Alexander Gavrylyuk is, easily, the most compelling pianist of his generation.” Limelight Magazine
- A. MOZART Sonata C Major K.330
- CHOPIN Fantasy in f minor
- LISZT Tarantella
- MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
March 22, 2026
SPECIAL JAZZ EVENING
BILL CHARLAP AND BRANDON GOLDBERG
A TWO PIANO Conversation on “THE AMERICAN SONG BOOK”
April 26, 2026
ANTON GERZENBERG (Germany)
Gerzenberg is in a league of his own. He is in total control, armed with uncommon self-assuredness for a pianist of his age. (…) He looks like a potential leading light of his generation. James Imam, Musical America Worldwide
TAUSIG – Das Geisterschiff, Op. 1c GMinor „ – Der Zauberlehrling, Etude No. 10
S. PROKOFIEV – Toccata, Op. 11
G. LIGETI – L‘escalier du diable, Etude No. 13
S. PROKOFIEV – Suggestion Diabolique, op. 4/4
G. LIGETI– Vertige, Etude No. 9
F. LISZT – Mephisto – Waltz No. 1
S. RACHMANINOV – Etude A Minor„The Little Red Riding Hood“, Op. 39/6
G. LIGETI – En suspens, Etude No. 11
S. RACHMANINOV – Etude E-flat Minor, Op. 33/3
G. LIGETI– Automne à Varsovie, Etude No. 6
S. RACHMANINOV- Sonata No. 2 b-flat Minor, Op. 36 (First Version)
2026 DISCOVERY SERIES
The Wolfsonian Museum
1001 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
January 24 LUIS URBINA (Venezuela)
“Urbina is an astonishing musician, with an uncanny ability to communicate and a luscious sound that enwraps the audience. Walter Ponce, Author of “The Tyrany of Tradition in Piano Teaching.”
- SCHUMANN
Symphonic Etudes Op. 13
- PROKOFIEV
Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
January 25 CAN CAKMUR (Turkey) “Can Çakmur is the Gold Medal winner of the 2018 Hamamatsu Competition, lets the music speak for itself, in a wonderfully luminous, graceful account that felt entirely sincere and heartfelt.” David Kettle, The Scotsman
L.V BEETHOVEN “Waldstein” Sonata Op. 53 No. 21
- LISZT Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Cloches de Geneve
FAZIL SAY Insan Insan Variations (2024)
- CHOPIN Chopin Barcarolle Op. 60
- SCHUBERT Wanderer Fantasie D 760
February 14 CARTER JOHNSON (Canada) “Sincere, communicative, and intelligent”, “drop-dead gorgeous”, and even “the greatest thing since sliced bread” Gramophone
- DEBUSSY from Douze Études
L.V BEETHOVEN Sonata no. 24 in F-sharp major, op. 78 (“à Thérèse”)
- PROKOFIEV from Six Pieces, Op. 52
- SCHUMANN Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
February 15 JONAS AUMILLER (Germany) “His playing combines structural intelligence, sublime sound control and deep emotionality,” Prof. Jacob Leuschner, Brahms Competition
- CHOPIN Prélude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45
Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60
Sonata no. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35
- BRAHMS Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118
- CHOPIN Impromptu in F-sharp major, Op. 36
- LISZT/JONAS AUMILLER Symphonic Poem No. 3 Les Préludes(transcription for piano)
April 11 EMANUIL IVANOV (Bulgaria)
“A chisel of the individual voices, dynamic excursion and pianism at the limit of audible which immediately becomes evident.” La Scala
C.DEBUSSY 24 Preludes
- SHOSTAKOVICH Selection of Preludes and Fugues
April 12
JULIAN KAINRATH (Italy) Violin
EMANUIL IVANOV (Bulgaria) Piano
“A musical intelligence that is capable of returning melodies to the musical phrases, filled with infinite inflections from the changing dynamics”
Elena Biggi Parodi L’Arena
- MENDELSSOHN Sonata para violin y piano en fa menor Op. 4
- V BEEHOVEN Sonata para violin y piano N 8
- FRANCK Sonata para violin y piano
MIPF WINTER ACADEMY IN MIAMI BEACH
MASTER SERIES
2026
Miami Beach Woman’s Club
2401 Pine Tree Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140
All Recitals are at 7:00 PM
Admission FREE
January 6
ARIEL LANYI (ISRAEL) “Mr. Lanyi’s authority takes no prisoners as he expertly leads us on a no-nonsense artistic journey
as satisfying as it is substantive.”
January 7
JULIEN LIBEER (BELGIUM) ‘Everything he does sounds true, with great economy of gestures, crystal-clear limpidity and intense expression.’ Süddeutsche Zeitung
January 8
ILYA ITIN (RUSSIA) Itin’s playing is a prime example of a superb technique put at the service of an inquiring and imaginative mind.” San Francisco Classical Voice
January 9
STEPHEN BEUS (USA) “Spectacular.…it was like he had placed the orchestra in the middle of a gigantic centrifuge and pushed start.” Copenhagen Post
January 10
ALBERT CANO SMIT (SPAIN) ‘The audience witnessed a genius at work’ San Francisco Classical Voice
January 12
STUDENT CONCERTS (Part I and Part II)
2026 Season
ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION
Two Special Concerts
Miami Beach Woman’s Club
2401 Pine Tree Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140
All Recitals are at 7:30 PM
Saturday May 2, 2026
BACH: The Art of the Fugue
ALBERT CANO SMIT (Spain)
Sunday May 3, 2026,
SCRIABIN: Preludes & Etudes
ILYA ITIN (Russia)
Patrons of Exceptional Artists’ Mission
Exceptionally talented pianists, with unwavering dedication, devote their entire youth to developing their skills, abiding by rigid and demanding schedules, and focusing on achieving a successful music career. During this arduous process, they often find themselves lost without the support and understanding of a benefactor. That is where the mission and purpose of Patrons of Exceptional Artists comes in, an organization that, for the last 27 years, has brought the talent of countless deserving pianists to the attention of the public, conductors, and agents. Many of our artists are now in the international circuit, represented by top management.
To enrich its mission, in 1998, Patrons of Exceptional Artists branched out to create the now-celebrated Miami International Piano Festivals and Academy, where students experience the hands-on immersion of working closely with an outstanding international faculty. In the winter, the MIPFA takes place at the beautiful Cadet Hotel in Miami Beach, and in the summer at the Gustav Mahler Cultural Center in Dobbiaco, Italy, a gateway to the Dolomites, about which Mahler wrote, “Dobbiaco is extraordinary: it tempers your body and soul.”
We have also expanded our outreach through an online state-of-the-art virtual platform that continues to evolve, creating an archive and visual library of all MIPF activities. The goal is to provide global exposure to our artists while allowing music lovers worldwide to enjoy our concerts, lectures, and masterclasses. The Miami International Piano Festival concerts are interactive experiences that engage our audiences and enhance their appreciation of music in its infinite prism of ideas and emotions.
Giselle Brodsky, founder and artistic director of Patrons of Exceptional Artists, spends hundreds of hours
listening to innumerable performances of hopeful applicants to select artists who, with their passion and commitment to the expression of music, will inspire and be inspired by our faculty, students, and audience.
Patrons Of Exceptional Artists is a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization. For more information, contact Giselle Brodsk, at info@miamipianofest.com or visit our website at www.miamipianofest.com.
