Ten pianists aged 21 to 29 have been selected to perform in the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada from August 30 to September 8. They are: Stefano Andreatta (Italy), Han Chen (Taiwan), Tzu-Yin Huang (Taiwan), Adela Liculescu (Romania), Nicolas Namoradze (Georgia), Megan-Geoffrey Prins (South Africa), Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner (United States), Philipp Scheucher (Austria), Aristo Sham (Hong Kong), and Yannick Van de Velde (Belgium). The winner, announced on September 7, will receive $100,000 (CAD) and participate in an artist-development program. Each pianist will perform a 65-minute solo recital and a 65-minute collaborative recital with baritone Phillip Addis and violinist Jonathan Crow. Three finalists will appear in quintets with the Azahar Ensemble and perform concertos with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Karina Canellakis. During the competition, there will also be performances by Mentor-in-Residence Garrick Ohlsson; a concert by 2015 Honens Prize Laureate Luca Buratto and Szymon Nehring, winner of Israel’s 2017 Rubinstein Competition (with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra); Bison Noir, an after-hours jam session; a world premiere of a new work designed to appeal to children on the autism spectrum and their families; and a free outdoor chamber recital. Jon Kimura Parker is Honens’ artistic director.
Posted August 9, 2018