Young pianists scoop Santander competition prizes

The 24-year-old took first prize and the Gold Medal at the event, and will now receive €30,000 (£23,900) and embark on an international concert tour. He is particularly successful in Spain, having won Barcelona's annual Maria Canals competition in 2005.

Second prize of €20,000 and international concert opportunities plus the Silver Medal went to Avan Yu, a 21-year-old from Canada who currently studies at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. Bronze and third prize (€10,000 and recitals) was awarded to Japan's Kotaro Fukuma.

The Audience Prize was also claimed by Yu, who receives Sony equipment worth €12,000.

The competition's repertoire included a choice of Mozart sonatas in the semi-final stage and a selection of concertos by Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Prokofiev and Robert Schumann for the final stage.

The finale, at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria on 6 August, saw competitors accompanied by the Dresden Philaharmonic under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. It was part of the Santander International Festival.

The competition, which launched in 1974 and is in its 16th year, is particularly successful in offering performance opportunities to young artists: winners of the last competition in 2005 were able to choose from over 100 concerts as part of their prize.

http://www.santanderpianocompetition.com

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