Prix Serdang awarded for the first time
The 25-year-old British pianist Martin James Bartlett is the first winner of the newly created Solothurn Piano Prize "Prix Serdang", which is endowed with 50,000 francs. The winners are selected by pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.
According to the press release, the idea of the "Prix Serdang" was born during the pandemic and serves to "promote and preserve artistic creation". It is to be awarded annually from 2022. Curator Rudolf Buchbinder recommends a maximum of three young talents. The choice will ultimately be made by initiator Adrian Flury and cultural manager Thomas Pfiffner.
Martin James Bartlett began his musical education at the age of six. His first public success was winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. The following year he made his debut at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2021.
The Villa Serdang in Feldbrunnen near Solothurn, originally built in 1644 and converted into an Art Nouveau villa in 1892, has been used as a meeting place for cultural purposes since its renovation in 2012. The Prix Serdang will be presented there for the first time on July 2, 2022 as part of a recital.
