Piano competition to be unveiled in Beijing

The first Arthur Rubinstein International Youth Piano Competition will be held in Beijing from Sept 29-Oct 9. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The first Arthur Rubinstein International Youth Piano Competition will be held in Beijing from Sept 29-Oct 9.

Twenty-nine contestants from 13 countries will compete in the event, and 11 world-renowned pianists and music educators will be the judges. Israeli pianist Arie Vardi will be the jury chairman. Chinese pianist Wang Xiaohan will be the artistic director. The jury panel also includes Russian pianist Vladimir Ovchinnikov, who is jury chairman of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition.

All the jury members will give master classes during the contest.

The competition will be opened at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. At the same venue, Chinese conductor Chen Lin will lead Israel Symphony Orchestra to perform with the final three competitors on Oct 8.

Alexander Korsantia, a Canadian pianist who won the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 1995, will perform with Israel Symphony Orchestra and the top three winners of the first Arthur Rubinstein International Youth Piano Competition under the baton of Chen at Beijing Concert Hall on Oct 9.

The competition is open to pianists from around the world who have not crossed their 18th birthday by Sept 29. The first prize will be $30,000, the second $20,000 and third $10,000. A special award will also be given for best performance of Chinese- or Israeli-commissioned pieces.

The Arthur Rubinstein International Master Competition was started in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1974 to carry forward the artistic legacy of Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) and to discover new talent and foster emerging careers.

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