The Bartók World Competition at the Liszt Academy begins
On Sunday evening, 31 August, the youngest entrant, fifteen-year-old Chinese Michael Jiang, drew the number of the contestant who will be the first to perform, according to the tradition of the institution's competitions: it will be Anastasiia Kliuchereva from Russia, and she is followed by in alphabetical order.
This order will remain in effect throughout the rounds. The 21 competitors will include Japanese, Hungarian, Chinese, Korean, Czech, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian and German nationals. The Bartók World Competition is open to the general public: from 1 to 4 September, admission to the preliminaries and semi-finals is free of charge, while tickets for the solo and orchestral finals on 5 September and 7 September are available at a convenient price on the Liszt Academy website and at its ticket office. The latter event will feature the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by János Kovács.
The solo final will also include the chance to play on a brand new Bösendorfer 280VC concert piano.
The competition, supported by the Hungarian state, has Mr. Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary as chief patron, while Prof. Dr. Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation as well as Mr. Tamás Vásáry, renowned pianist and conductor are its patrons.
The event will award €22,000 for first prize, €14,000 for second and €8,000 for third, plus €4,000 for the best Bartók interpretation, €2,000 for the best performance of a contemporary piece and a €1,500 audience prize. A number of special prizes will also be awarded thanks to the donations of the partners, including media packages from the cultural websites and magazines Papageno and Fidelio, as well as performance opportunities from Philharmonia Hungary, the Bartók Memorial House, Müpa Budapest and a number of orchestras such as the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danubia Orchestra, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra and several regional ensembles.
As a sponsor of the competition and as part of a long-standing cooperation, Yamaha Corporation, the brand owner, has donated a Bösendorfer 280VC concert grand piano to the Liszt Academy for 2 years of use, worth 100 million forints (cca. 250,000 euros), freshly made in Vienna. It will be one of the optional instruments in the Grand Hall, so that it can be played by students as well as artists performing here in the coming period.
The Vice-President and Head of Department of the Liszt Academy, composer Gyula Fekete, one of the Hungarian members of the international jury, welcomed the audience on behalf of the institution, stressing that he is the only non-pianist member of the jury and will therefore be watching the performances from a different perspective. He quoted Beethoven, who said that playing a wrong note is insignificant, but playing without passion is inexcusable. Reflecting on this, Gyula Fekete encouraged everyone to interpret works with true passion.
Yoheved Kaplinsky, President of the Jury, Head of the Piano Department and Artistic Director of the Preparatory Piano Department at The Juilliard School (New York), said in her speech that it is always a wonderful feeling to be in Budapest, a city with a rich culture and character. Speaking about the Bartók World Competition, she said that its structure and compulsory repertoire makes it unique among similar events. She also urged the competitors to play with sincerity and passion, and to enjoy their performances.
