Noel do Carmo Flores
- Jury member
- Austria
Noel Flores, born in India, only felt his vocation to play the piano in a late stage of his youth. He was musically talented ever since, but only through an act of fate, at the age of 19, did he begin to dedicate himself to his instrument.
The first merits of his new obsession were a portugese scholarship, leading him into studying in Madrid with Julia Parodi, pupil of F. Busoni, and later, a scholarship for the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, where he was a student of Hans Graf and then of Dieter Weber, who later invited him to be his assistant.
After playing many concerts that were highly acclaimed by the press, and winning few international prizes (like the first medal at the Geneva International Piano Competition) , Noel Flores was offered a chair as full Professor at the University of Music in Vienna. His greatest interest lies in the research and improvement of anatomical and spiritual movements, that represent an essential part in piano playing.
In order to do so, he has acquired a deep knowledge of the human body and of yoga techniques, that he uses to help his students have a better understanding of musical and physical events they experience during their play.
His class has brought out several prize-winners of International Piano Competitions, few renowned teachers & international recording & performing artists .
He holds master-classes in Austria, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Japan
and Korea.
He is often invited as a member of jury to international competitions like: Leeds, Vienna,
Tel-Aviv (Rubinstein Competition), Leipzig (Bach Comp.), South Africa, Germany, Italy,
Chile, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
In 1997 he was rewarded the grand silver medal for his outstanding services to the
State of Austria.