- Ramzi Yassa
Ramzi Yassa (b. 1948) is an Egyptian pianist. An outstanding member of the first batch of musicians trained at the
Cairo Conservatory , Yassa graduated in Moscow'sTchaikovsky Conservatory , taking part in the 1974 Tchaikovsky competition, where he earnt a Honorary certificate. He then launched a concert career, settling in Paris. Three years later, he was the first Egyptian pianist to win a major piano competition - the'Paloma O'Shea' Santander International Piano Competition .The first Arab pianist to record Beethoven's piano concertos (Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Ahmed El Saedi), Ramzi Yassa has performed in halls as renowned as the Vienna's
Musikverein , theBerliner Philharmonie , theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , theBarbican Centre , theRoyal Albert Hall or theThéâtre des Champs-Élysées , collaborating with conductors such asZubin Mehta ,Charles Groves andVladimir Ashkenazy . A teacher in Paris' École Normale. He is a recipient of the Liszt Centennial Commemorative Medal as well as the 2007 Egyptian State Prize for Music, for the first time awarded to a performing musician.External links
[http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6671 Interview with Ramzi Yassa,
Egypt Today ][http://www.manasterly.com/first_concert_e7-8.htm Biography] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8qt_keNZFc A performance of Fryderyk Chopin's Polonaise op.53]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.