The Miami International Piano Festival, which kicked off in 2023, concluded its annual series last weekend with a final recital that included an art exhibition at the Wolfsonian Museum in South Beach.
The festival, which opened October 22, highlighted a diverse lineup of national and international pianists including Ariel Lanyi from Israel, Reed Tetzloff from the U.S. and Dmitry Ablogin from Russia.
Arleen Shabel was one of the attendees who formed part of the MIPF board of members.
“I would hope that we will see more and more young people who appreciate the music and keep it going,” said Shabel. “If there is only music of the 21st century…we will have lost a great treasure,” she added.
“Festivals like this are a way for us, for young artists, to bring a little bit of kindness, and beauty, and love into this world,” said Israeli-Ukrainian pianist Alexandra Segal.
Giselle Brodsky, the festival’s artistic director and co-founder, played a crucial role in welcoming and supporting academy members, talents and the crowd.
“New talent is necessary to fill all these empty spaces in the classical musical related to the piano festival,” said Brodsky. “But getting audiences to attend has become more difficult post-pandemic.”
As the Miami International Piano Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary, Wolfsonian event manager Samuel De Jesus said there’s a need to expand the festival’s reach.
“I think it’s a good event for those who know about it, but it needs to be expanded a bit and reach out to a wider audience.” De Jesus said. “But the skill level of the performers and the pianists is really well done.”
