Steinway & Sons welcomes Thai pianist ‘San Jittakarn’ to the family of Steinway Artist
Without the Artists, a STEINWAY piano is silent. STEINWAY & SONS Thailand is with great pleasure welcoming San Jittakarn to the STEINWAY Family. A Global Milestone for the Thailand’s Classical Music IndustrY.
Steinway & Sons, the world's leading piano brand known for over 170 years of craftsmanship, proudly welcomes Thai pianist San Jittakarn to the Steinway Artist family. This exclusive honor reserved for artists who choose to perform exclusively on Steinway,, includes renowned concertizing pianists like Lang Lang, Diana Krall, Charlie Puth and as well as legends like Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein. These world-class artists recognize the Steinway brand as the world's best piano brand, capable of flawlessly conveying the emotions and musical expressions exactly as desired.
A highly talented Thai pianist, San Jittakarn’s, significant strides on the global music scene marks a pivotal moment for Thailand's classical music industry. He holds the distinction of being the sole Thai pianist to earn the prestigious title of Steinway Artist,since the opening of the new exclusive Steinway & Sons showroom in Thailand in 2019. The conferment ceremony took place at the Steinway & Sons Thailand showroom on January 6, 2024, showcasing performances by San’s talented students.
San has proven himself in many established international music competitions: he won Third Prize at the prestigious Geneva International Music Competition in 2018, was a semi-finalist at the esteemed Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, and later in 2021 he made his as the first ever Thai pianist at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Steinway Artists are distinguished by their commitment to delivering music of the highest quality to their audience, and Steinway pianos excel in delivering music with the world's finest sound quality. For this reason, artists worldwide hold Steinway pianos in high regard.
This milestone signifies a notable moment for San Jittakarn and underscores his commitment to delivering music of the highest quality to his audience by performing on the world's finest instrument, the Steinway & Sons piano.
ABOUT STEINWAY ARTIST
In 1872, Steinway & Sons partnered Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein to play his first and only concert tour in America, inadvertently paving the way for the Steinway Artist Program today. The Steinway Artist title is conferred upon only the best pianists of his or her time, and is a program handled by Steinway’s very own Concert and Artist Department. Every one of these Steinway Artists have chosen to perform exclusively on Steinways, possess their own Steinway piano, and none are paid to do so.
Steinway & Sons recognizes pianists from every genre and generation, and till date the Steinway Artist roster names over 2,000 of the most illustrious pianists of all time. Over 180 Steinway Immortals such as Franz Liszt, Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Art Tatum precede the 1,800 current solo Artists the likes of Martha Argerich, Billy Joel and Diana Krall. Also supplementing our Artist Roster are 80 ensembles which include names like The 5 Browns and Anderson & Roe, and over 120 Young Steinway Artists.
For more information, visit https://www.steinwaythailand.com/news/journals3/steinway-artist-program
ABOUT SAN JITTAKARN
San Jittakarn, influenced by his non-musician parents from a young age, embarked on his musical journey in a household where music was an integral part of daily life. Growing up immersed in the performances of legendary musicians like Vladimir Horowitz, Glenn Gould, Emil Gilels and old masters such as Alfred Cortot. These experiences profoundly shaped San's understanding of the limitless possibilities of musical interpretation and the art of attentive listening.
His early studies were guided by Thai pianists Nat Yontararak and Charun Poomiwadorn. San continued his education at the Pre-College division of the College of Music, Mahidol University, studying under Sébastien Koch, Bahktior Allaberganov, and Ramasoon Sitalayan.
Hailed by La Libre Belgique as “an inspired and visionary poet,” San won Third Prize at the prestigious Geneva International Music Competition in 2018. San is the first recipient of the Paderewski Prize, jointly awarded by the Paderewski Foundation in Morges, the Geneva Competition and the Paderewski Piano Competition Bydgoszcz in Poland, to a pianist whose playing is particularly expressive in romantic tradition.
San distinguished himself at the Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona,receiving the Jury’s unanimous medal “Unanimitat Medalla,” and was a semi-finalist at the esteemed Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels where his performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto was applauded by Crescendo Magazine as “an unpredictable,touching pianist.” San is the first Thai pianist at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
San’s concerto performance with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande at Victoria Hall in Switzerland has been issued into a disc under Concour de Genève label in partnership with Montres Breguet.Other concerto performances were with Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orchestre Symphonique de l’AMAmusique, Oberlin Orchestra, Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. His performances have been broadcasted by La Radio Télévision Suisse in Switzerland, RTBF channels in Belgium and Cleveland Ovations of WCLV radio in the United States.
San was awarded the John Elvin Piano Prize while pursuing his studies at Oberlin Conservatory, under the guidance of Monique Duphil and Yury Shadrin. He earned his graduate degrees at the Juilliard School and Yale University. At Juilliard, San studied with Hung-Kuan Chen and Jerome Lowenthal. San graduated from Yale as a George W. Miles fellow where he continued his studies with Hung-Kuan Chen and chamber music with David Shifrin.
For more information, visit https://www.sanjittakarn.com/biography