It was a wonderful evening: Andrian Boelcke, Valeria González Gerwig, Dorothea Hanebuth, and Pauline Heinrich performed at the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s annual scholarship concert and captivated the audience in the well-attended Carl Bechstein Hall in Berlin. The concert program was wide-ranging: Andrian Boelcke, who had just been accepted as a young student by Professor Markus Groh at the Julius Stern Institute in Berlin, opened with the Prelude and Fugue in D-sharp minor from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, before masterfully performing Beethoven’s “Les Adieux,” a piece rich in contrast. Valeria González Gerwig, who is currently studying with Marc Bouchkov at the Folkwang Junior, performed Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 76, and conjured up beautiful tones from the C. Bechstein concert grand piano in Debussy’s “Estampes.” Pauline Heinrich, who is taught by Polina Jakovleva in the preparatory class at the Stuttgart Music School, performed Prokofiev’s Second Sonata with the utmost concentration and expressiveness. And Dorothea Hanebuth, who is now under the guidance of Professor Adrian Oetiker at the Munich University of Music, brought the concert to a brilliant close with works by Haydn, Bartók, and Rachmaninoff.

Before the concert, Professor Lucas Blondeel once again provided an expert guided tour of the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s collection of historical pianos.

For three years now, the national prize winners of the “Jugend musiziert” competition have been supported by the Carl Bechstein Foundation. During this time, they have grown both musically and personally and have become friends with one another. The latter was particularly evident in the exuberant atmosphere following the concert. As is customary, the Carl Bechstein Foundation is awarding four new scholarships this year at the “Jugend musiziert” national competition. In that sense, the scholarship recipients’ concert also served as a closing concert. Its echoes will linger with us for a long time to come.