Canadian Jaeden Izik-Dzurko was the First Prize winner at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the Maria Canals International Music Competition, and the 20th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition — all in 2022.
Two years later, he’d follow up by becoming the first Canadian Grand Prize Laureate in an instrumental edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). He’d also garner a first prize win at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition in the UK, receiving the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal.
The Leeds prize includes performances across Europe, and a whirlwind of appearances while he’s also studying. In October 2024, his debut EP was released on Warner Classics, consisting of excerpts from his Leeds Competition performance.
Jaeden be performing an intimate recital at Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto on March 23 in a series curated by pianist Angela Hewitt and Eric Friesen. We caught up with him to ask about competitions, career and music.
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: The Interview
The Leeds win was a crowning achievement for the BC native. The years of competitions and the preparations for them were formidable.
“I consider the Leeds one to be my last competition,” he says. “I am a little bit pleased that I can close the book on that chapter.”
Along with technical skills, naturally, competitions require a great deal of nerve and mental preparation. But, it was time to stop thinking in terms of besting the competition. “Almost spiritually,” he says, “to have this ceaseless ranking going on — it’s a little bit perverse.”
Still, the experience was invaluable in terms of preparing him for a life on international stages. “I think for grooming a performing artist, the piano competitions flex and develop a lot of really indispensable muscles.”
With various stipulations, competing internationally also tends to involve learning mountains of repertoire. “It became increasingly difficult,” he says. Juggling a growing performing schedule, along with the travel involved, was prohibitive.
As to his winning form, he says he kept his focus on the music. “I try to take the view that you keep […] the jury and their preferences out of your mind as much as possible,” he says. “It’s difficult to try to conform to the tastes of someone else, and that’s probably the recipe for disaster.”
Instead of the judges, he kept his mind on the audience, and his essential love of the music.
“That’s a piece of advice that I would offer to any young artist going into competitions,” he says.
As a means to an end, he’s now focusing on performing and continuing his studies. “Now that I’ve concluded my competition experiences, it’s becoming clear to me that it’s only one component of developing a career,” says Izik-Dzurko.
As he points out, while competitions may help you improve technique and broaden repertoire, there are still important matters like developing relationships with collaborators and presenters, and the ongoing concern of making an impression on your audience, to be considered.
These days, his schedule is divided between Germany, Italy, and international travel.
“I reside in Germany, and I travel to Italy about every month for lessons,” he explains. He’s studying in Germany as well.
His spring agenda includes an extended stay in Rome for lessons and a chamber music exam, and a recital in Arezzo earlier in March before his North American concert dates.
In Recital: Hugh’s Room Live March 23
He’ll hit Kelowna on March 21 before his Toronto recital on the 23. Jaeden will be performing a program that includes new arrangements of recital repertoire, some he’s performing for the first time.
- J.S. Bach: Partita for keyboard No. 4, BWV 828
- Sergei Rachmaninoff: Preludes, Op. 23
- Frédéric Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
“It’s relatively new music,” he says. “I have a lot of love for Rachmaninoff,” he adds. “It’s one of my own musical strengths.”
He cites performing Bach as one of the luxuries of leaving the competition world behind. “It’s a bit of a celebration of no longer being constrained by competition guidelines.” Still, he’s grateful for what the competition repertoire taught him. “Some of the pieces that I’ve played in a lot of competitions I’ve really grown with.”
After his Toronto gig, he’s heading east to Québec, then a recital for Société Pro Musica in Montréal before dates across South Korea through April and May.
- Find more information about his Toronto recital [HERE].
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