On Friday September 3 2021 the final stages of the 63rd International Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition came to an end at the Bolzano City Theater. Along withthe two South Koreans Jae Hong Park and Do-Hyun Kim it was Lukas Sternath from Vienna, Austria, who had been able to qualify for the Finalissima with the Haydn Orchestra under the direction of Arvo Volmer.
It was Jae Hong Park who, with his interpretation of Sergej Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto backed by strong performances through the previous stages, convinced the jury chaired by Louis Lortie that he was worthy of the renowned music prize. Do-Hyun Kim was awarded the second prize for his gripping interpretation of Sergei Prokofiev’s 2nd piano concerto, the third prize went to Lukas Sternath for his performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto. Jae Hong Park was also awarded the Chamber Music Prize by the Schumann Quartet, he also won the prize for the best interpretation of a work by Busoni, the special prize for the best performance of a contemporary piano work went to Do-Hyun Kim. The Friends of the Busoni Competition awarded a special new prize in memory of their member, the late Marisa Windisch. The prize dedicated to her is awarded to the youngest participant in the chamber music group which this year was Lukas Sternath. The Italian Serena Valluzzi followed in 4th place. The competition was widely followed through platforms like Amadeus.Tv in China, Naver.com in Korea, Takt1 in Europe and of course the competition’s web channels. For the first time in the history of the piano competition the Finalissima was also broadcast on national television.
Watch the entire finalissima in our Video Archive:
https://voting.concorsobusoni.it/en/grand-finale/post/EC1E8871-B276-4754-BD68-3E75DA1ED848
Jae Hong Park (*1999) is the first-prize winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition for Young Artists and the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. He was also Finalist Prize winner at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition and fourth-prize winner of the Ettlingen International Competition. He has performed recitals in many countries including Italy, Argentina, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United States. He has performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Camerata, Utah Symphony Orchestra and many other orchestras. He has been invited to the Washington Piano Festival, the Gina Bachauer Piano Festival, Grachten Festival and other festivals to give recitals. He is currently studying in Korea National University of Arts under Prof. Daejin Kim.
Do-Hyun Kim (*1994) is a young artist who is seeking to explore music in the greatest depth. He received a special prize for best performance in the semi-final round of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. In 2017, he received top prize at the Vendôme Piano Competition in Switzerland. In the same year, he was awarded first prize at the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, along with special prizes at the Auditions. Originally from Korea, Kim moved to the United States to earn his Bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with HaeSun Paik and Sergei Babayan. He continued his studies with Mr. Babayan at The Juilliard School, earning a Master in 2019, and is heading back to the Cleveland Institute this year to pursue an Artist Diploma.
Lukas Sternath (*2001) born in Vienna, is currently studying in the class of Prof. Anna Malikova at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he began his bachelor degree in 2019. As of October 2021, he will continue his studies with Prof. Igor Levit at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media. Furthermore, he took private lessons with Till Fellner and Ingolf Wunder. Lukas has already performed in various musical locations in Vienna (Musikverein, Konzerthaus, etc.) and abroad (in Asia, North America and Europe). Apart from that, he won several prizes at numerous international piano competitions, including the 2nd prize and Audience Award at the European Piano Competition Bremen (2021), 1st prize at the “Classic on Danube” International Piano Competition (2019) and 4 th prize at the 16th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition (2018). In 2019, he made his debut with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in the big hall of the Festspielhaus St. Pölten.
The Jury
Busoni 2021 Jury: Louis Lortie (President, Canada), Nareh Arghamanyan (Armenia), Alessio Bax (Italy / USA), Federico Colli (Italy), Till Janczukowicz (Germany), Francesco Filidei (Italy / France), Hélène Mercier (Canada), Eliane Rodrigues (Brazil), Alexander Romanovsky (Ukraine / Italy), Mikhail Rudy (France).
Ferruccio Busoni
Founded in 1949, the Busoni Competition immediately captured the attention of the contemporary music scene, due in part to the presence of an extraordinary Honorary Committee, which included Claudio Arrau, Wilhelm Backhaus, Alfred Cortot, Walter Gieseking, Dinu Lipatti, Arthur Rubinstein and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. For almost seven decades, the competition has again and again confirmed its reputation of being a catalyst in bringing to light many musicians who have subsequently shone in the pianistic firmament, such as Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, Jörg Demus, Louis Lortie, Lilya Zilberstein and Garrick Ohlsson. www.busoni-mahler.eu
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