Keystone-SDA
The 31st edition of the International Piano Competition Clara Haskil will see 26 young talents compete at the Le Reflet Theater in Vevey, from August 28 to September 5. It will be chaired by the Irish pianist Finghin Collins, winner of the competition in 1999.
(Keystone-ATS) The competition has retained 26 young pianists from a dozen countries, selected “at the end of rigorous video playoffs from 133 candidates”, write the organizers of the biennial event. The competition aims to “reveal an exceptional musical personality, carrying essential values: musicality, sensitivity, humility, permanent questioning, listening and respect for the composer’s text”, they underline.
The repertoire imposed on candidates, including in particular works by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann and Beethoven, is a reflection of the artistic journey of the Swiss pianist of Romanian origin, died in 1960.
Since 2013, in a desire to remain faithful to the artist who incorporated contemporary works in his programs, the organizers have commanded a short work for each edition to a current composer. This year, they chose the Irishman Sam Perkin.
Open to the general public
The quarter -finals will take place from Thursday, 28 to Sunday 31 August. The candidates will perform in recital. The semi-finals, Tuesday September 2 and Wednesday September 3, will put the music of chamber in the spotlight with the sonatas for cello and piano of Beethoven. The semi-finalists will be accompanied by the cellist Marc Coppey.
Three finalists will compete on Friday September 5, around a concerto by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin or Schumann, with the accompaniment of the Zermatt festival orchestra under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy. The winner will receive 25,000 francs and professional support for the launch of his career. The other two finalists will receive a price of 5000 francs each.
Note that it is possible to attend free quarterfinals and semi-finals. The ticket office is open for the final. All events will also be broadcast in streaming.
Young musicologists involved
In addition, the Clara Haskil competition continues its educational project called “La Jeune Critique”. This is carried out with the Musicology Department of the University of Geneva.
In this context, he invites seven students to “immerse himself behind the scenes of the organization, to exercise their critical sense by awarding the favorite prize, to animate meetings between public, jury and candidates, to publish criticism and to present the competition during daily radio chronicles in collaboration with RTS”.