There was a shower of prizes at the Kronberg piano competition.

It was impressive! The prize winners’ concert of the 2nd International Piano Competition for Young Pianists Kronberg at the Casals Forum was of the highest standard. The prize winners, aged between eight and 18, impressed both the high-caliber jury and the audience.

Supporters of this competition included the Carl Bechstein Foundation and C. Bechstein Pianoforte GmbH. The auditions took place in the Carl Bechstein Hall of the Kronberg Academy, while the well-attended winners’ concert was held in the Casals Forum. Hundreds of young pianists applied to take part in the second International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Kronberg. Sixty-six young talents from 17 countries were admitted after a video audition. The standard of these participants was so high that the jury awarded multiple prizes in each of the seven age groups. The highly gifted competitors were delighted with the many prizes they received, awarded by the jury of Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit, Prof. Christian Pohl, Prof. Claudia Schellenberger and competition director Ulrike Danne-Feldmann.

The audience at the award winners’ concert, which lasted a good three hours but was very varied, could then see for themselves that these awards were absolutely justified in view of the outstanding performances. Eight-year-old Alexander Zhou from the USA, who looked even younger, impressed with his incredibly nimble fingers and recognizable musicality in the Presto from Bach’s Italian Concerto. Ellie Jasmine Bauwens, who is the same age, followed seamlessly with a brilliant interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s Étude-tableaux No. 8 from Op. 33. A total of twelve young pianists elicited many colors and a wide dynamic range from the C. Bechstein concert grand piano during the concert. All of them played at the highest level. For me, the absolute highlights included Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 in an expressive interpretation by 12-year-old Stefan Szypura from Switzerland, the highly virtuosic “Scarbo” from Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” by 14-year-old Linda Yuan, who also won the audience prize, the sensually dazzling “Une Barque sur l’Ocean” from Ravel’s “Miroirs” by 18-year-old Yejune Chae from Korea, and last but not least, the Mephisto Waltz, performed with extraordinary virtuosity by 16-year-old Chayapon Chanporn from Thailand, which did Liszt proud.

With its second edition, this competition has firmly established itself as one of the most important for young talent worldwide. We would like to offer our sincere congratulations!

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photos © Victoria Hücker und Rüdiger Voerste