Simon Bürki wins prizes in Weimar
The 17-year-old Swiss Simon Bürki has won the Weimar Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in his category. He was also awarded the Theodor Hlouschek Special Prize of the New Liszt Foundation for the best improvisation, the EMCY Special Prize, the Junior Jury Prize and a special prize for the best interpretation of a baroque work.
The 5th International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists with prizes worth a total of 15,000 euros took place at the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar. A total of 58 musicians from 23 different countries, from Australia to Lithuania, traveled to Weimar for the three evaluation rounds.
The 1st prize in the younger category I (up to 13 years) was won by 13-year-old Ariya Laothitipong from Thailand. No 2nd prize was awarded, but there were three 3rd prizes: 10-year-old Ryan Martin Bradshaw (Slovakia), 13-year-old Kacper Kuklinski (Poland), who also won the Junior Jury Prize, and 11-year-old Ben Lepetit (Germany). Ben Lepetit also won a special prize for the best interpretation of a baroque work.
In the older category II (14-17 years), the 17-year-old Swiss Simon Bürki won first prize. Bürki also won the Theodor Hlouschek Special Prize of the New Liszt Foundation for the best improvisation, the EMCY Special Prize, the Junior Jury Prize and a special prize for the best interpretation of a baroque work.
Bürki from Gossau is studying in Kiev and has already won the Swiss Youth Music Competition in Zurich and the Horowitz Young Pianists Competition in Kiev, among others.
The 2nd prize was won by 14-year-old Barbare Tataradze from Georgia, while the 3rd prize went to 17-year-old South Korean Jeonghwan Kim, who lives in Germany. Kim also won two special prizes for the best interpretation of a classical sonata and a work by Béla Bartók.
