Piano Success in Scotland
Monday 23 June 2014
RCM pianists have enjoyed success in the prestigious Scottish International Piano Competition 2014.
Artist Diploma pianist Ilya Maximov and RCM alumnus Jianing Kong beat off competition from 26 other talented young pianists from 18 different countries to win Second Prize (£7,500) and Third Prize (£5,000) respectively. In addition, RCM Masters pianist Dinara Klinton won the promising semi-finalist prize of £1,000.
Ilya and Jianing were selected as two of four finalists following their outstanding performances in the first and second rounds of the competition – performing pieces from the Baroque and Classical eras along with two etudes by different composers – and in the Semi Final stage, where they performed an hour long recital including a specially commissioned piece by Rory Boyle.
The Final took place on Sunday 22 June at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, where the four finalists performed a piano concerto of their choice with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Gergely Madaras.
Every third year since 1986 the Scottish International Piano Competition has attracted some of the world's most gifted young concert pianists to Glasgow to compete for the prizes and gain recognition at an early stage in their careers. This is not the first time that RCM musicians have enjoyed success the competition, with RCM alumna Oxana Schevchenko winning First Prize and RCM pianist Pavel Kolesnikov winning Third Prize the last time the competition was run in 2010.
