Bucharest, 2 June 2022 – The classical music competition open to young musicians of all nationalities from all over the world and for all instruments – Youth of Music International Competition 2022 – is now at the second edition. The competition awarded one trophy for each age category – Cat.III – born after 1992, Cat II – born after 1998 and Cat I – born after 2004. The three Youth of Music trophies went to young musicians from Spain, Poland and Romania.
The Grand Prix – Youth of Music 2022 was awarded to the young Romanian pianist Dominik Ilisz, 18 years old, from the Music High School of Oradea, with an impressive live performance of L.v.Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 for piano and orchestra, accompanied by the Radio Romania Chamber Orchestra.
The winner of the second Young Talent Award category was 19-year-old Polish clarinetist Adrian Palmowski from the Frederik Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
The winner of the first category “Junior Talent Award” is the Spanish violinist Taisia Paliazhakina Vafina, aged 14, from Cordoba Music School.
The three grand prize winners will receive recognition and cash prizes, trophies and will perform recitals at the Palace of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry offered by the Lanto Cultural Association “Magic of Music”, which is co-organiser of the competition, and at the Banatul Philharmonic in Timișoara.
The famous violinist Alexandru Tomescu, president of the jury, remarked: “The level of quality of the competition is increasing spectacularly and this makes me very happy“.
The jury also awarded a number of special prizes, offered by the competition partners, to exceptional musicians who particularly caught the jury’s attention with their performances. The winners were: Romanian bassoonist Traian Sturza, student at the University of Music in Munich, Italian accordionist Alberto Nardelli, student at the Conservatory of Lecce, who also won the Freedom – MuseART award, British guitarist Chris Godhart and Chinese tenor Zihua Zhang, both students at the Royal Northern College of Music Manchester, Ukrainian violinist Sofiia Hnativ, student at the Frederik Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and Japanese pianist Yuri Takesima, student at the University of Music in Wurzburg.
Igor Cognolato, world-renowned pianist and teacher, member of the YMIC2022 jury, said: “It was an honour and a pleasure to be invited to join the excellent jury of the second edition of the Youth of Music International Competition 2022, together with my colleagues. I enjoyed listening to so many highly motivated and talented young musicians from all over the world performing their favourite repertoire. It was a delight and a magnificent experience”.
The competition also saw the awarding of the “Cherish Life” Prizes to the youngest competitors – pianists Polina Chernykh, aged 8, from the Donetsk School of Music No. 2 in Donetsk, Ukraine, and Maximilian Cotov, aged 8, from the Conservatory of Music “Benedetto Marcello” in Venice, Italy. Special cash prizes were also awarded, such as the “Iancu Tucarman”, “Mecena”, “Lirica” and “Freedom – Museart” prizes.
Soprano Laura Tătulescu, one of the world’s leading opera singers, also member of the Jury said: “This year’s YMIC 2022 competition once again brought many young musicians with an important future on the world’s great stages. The prizes on offer support these artists by giving them not only a small financial incentive but also a platform to share their gifts and passion with audiences. It was a real joy to be on the jury with such extraordinary colleagues, confirming again and again that the future in art is hopeful.”
Special prizes include recording sessions, concerts, masterclasses and cash prizes. The winners will benefit from recording sessions at the legendary Electrecord studio in Bucharest, concerts at the West University of Timișoara – Faculty of Music, at the Arcuș Cultural Centre in Sfântul Gheorghe, at the Creative Hub, Voice and Visibility in Bucharest, with the support of Andreea Marin – UNICEF ambassador – and at the Associatia Cantici di Liberta in Lecco (Italy). The “Eufonia” prizes were also awarded, consisting of master classes for various instruments at the “Eufonia” Festival in Timișoara, as well as master classes with the famous soprano Laura Tătulescu and the Swedish tenor Kristofer Lundin.
“Once again Romania is offering young musicians a precious opportunity for an international career in classical music.. I was very proud to be part of this prestigious jury, in a competition with high-level candidates from all over the world”, said Gian Luigi Zampieri, the Italian conductor with an extensive international conducting career and member of the YMIC 2022 jury.
This year, 48 musicians from 18 countries, representing some of the world’s most prestigious music universities, including the University of Music in Munich, the Royal College of Music in London, the Frederik Chopin Conservatory in Warsaw, the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, the Bologna Conservatory, the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin, the Academy of Music in Cluj and the University of West Timișoara – Faculty of Music, have entered the competition. The young musicians represented eleven instruments: piano, violin, cello, guitar, clarinet, bassoon, flute, trumpet, saxophone, bayan accordion and voice. This edition is organised by the MuseArt Association, together with the Lanto Cultural Association “The Magic of Music” as co-organiser. The full list of awards can be found here: https://www.museart-academy.com/2022-edition
“First of all I would like to thank all the participants and those who joined us in this project dedicated to young musicians! Thank you to Lanto Magia Muzicii Association, co-organizer of the competition, which will offer cash prizes to the three winners, as well as the recitals held in Bucharest. I would also like to thank all our partners and jury members for their generosity and vote of confidence in this competition, as well as all the candidates who showed courage and determination by accepting this challenge. This is just the beginning, as we will continue the competition this year with the Youth of Music 2022 festival, which will include gala recitals by the winners, starting in September. We look forward to meeting them and enjoying their art together,” said pianist Sînziana Mircea, Young Steinway Artist, the initiator of the competition.
The first edition of the International Youth of Music Competition took place in 2021, with the support of the Museum of Bucharest and the Arcuș Culture Centre in Covasna, which hosted the gala recitals given by the winners of the competition.
The jury of the Competition was chaired again this year by the famous Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu, who was joined in this generous endeavour by the soprano Laura Tătulescu, one of the most important opera artists in the world, the Italian conductor Gian Luigi Zampieri with a vast international conducting career, the famous pianists and world-class teachers Vassily Lobanov and Igor Cognolato, together with the pianist Sînziana Mircea – Young Steinway Artist -, founder of the competition.
The competition trophies will be again offered by Authentic Plaza. Prizes will consist of trophies, cash prizes, diplomas, master classes and recitals at the Palace of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bucharest, the Arcuș Culture Centre in Sfântul Gheorghe, the Banatul Philharmonic and the West University of Timișoara, as well as in Italy.
Dorin Ioniță, president of the Lanto Music Magic Association, co-organizer of the competition, said: “For me, supporting young artists in an active way is a credo and a mission I have embraced for decades. I am very happy that together with the Lanto Association “The Magic of Music” I have joined this project, supporting it as I know best, namely by giving these wonderful musicians a stage in very complicated times. I know it’s very hard to pick winners when the candidates are of such a high standard. So I would like to congratulate both the winners of this competition and the jury of the competition who had a very complicated task. I can’t wait to listen to them and applaud them together in the season organised by Lanto at the Palace of the Chamber of Commerce in Bucharest!“.
Partners in the organization of the “Youth of Music International Competition”, edition 2022 are: First PR Agency, Filarmonica Banatul, West University of Timișoara, Arcuș Cultural Centre, “Tribul Artistic” Association, “Cherish Life” Foundation, Electrecord S.A., “Iancu Tucarman” Association, Crizantema SRL, Authentic Plaza SRL, “Cantici di liberta” Association.
MuseArt Association is a Romanian Cultural NGO founded in 2012 that aims to support the career development of young musicians at national and international level. The President of MuseArt Association is the Romanian pianist Sînziana Mircea. More details: www.museart-academy.com.
Lanto Magia Muzicii Cultural Association is one of the most important organizers of classical music concerts and festivals in Romania. The “Magical Summer” and “Magical Winter” festivals are just two examples. To date, the Lanto Magia Musicica Cultural Association has organised over 150 concerts, attended by over 150 soloists and 60,000 spectators. More details: www.lanto.ro.