· The pianists from Georgia, Russia and Japan have made it through to the final of the Valencia International Piano Competition and will compete in the Grand Final on 2 July alongside the Orquesta de València, conducted by Rubén Gimeno, in a packed Teatro Principal

· In the Grand Final, Jordania and Suzuki will perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, and Sychev will perform Franz Liszt’s Concerto No. 1, two landmark works of Romantic music

· Glòria Tello, the councillor responsible for the Iturbi Prize, expressed her satisfaction “at the support of the public, fans and music lovers for this internationally renowned competition on its 40th anniversary”

· The Iturbi Prize can be followed on the Provincial Council of Valencia’s YouTube channel https://cutt.ly/Fmr1fAG and on Vimeo https://cutt.ly/1mr1lqh, which will broadcast the competition live via streaming

Valencia, 1 July 2021

The Iturbi Prize – the Valencia International Piano Competition – organised by the Provincial Council of Valencia, has announced the three pianists who will compete in the Grand Final of its 40th anniversary: Salome Jordania (Georgia), Ryutaro Suzuki (Japan) and Alexey Sychev (Russia), following the evaluation carried out by the jury chaired by Joaquín Achúcarro and made up of eight leading figures from the international piano and music scene: Catherine D’Argoubet, Ana Guijarro, Jorge Luis Prats, Menahem Pressler, Didier Schnorhk, Josu de Solaun, Paolo Pinamonti and Barrett Wissman.

The selected participants will face the final test of this special edition by performing a piano concerto with the Orquesta de València, conducted by Valencian conductor Rubén Gimeno, at the Teatro Principal on Friday 2 July at 7:30 pm.

In the Grand Final, Salome Jordania (Georgia) and Ryutaro Suzuki (Japan) will perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, and Alexey Sychev (Russia) will perform Franz Liszt’s Concerto No. 1, two landmark works of Romantic music. The winner of the Iturbi Prize and the numerous other awards will be announced at the closing gala and awards ceremony, which will take place on Saturday 3 July at 7:30 pm.

All tickets for the final – the last test – and the closing gala have been sold out. The event can be followed on the Provincial Council of Valencia’s YouTube channel https://cutt.ly/Fmr1fAG and on Vimeo https://cutt.ly/1mr1lqh, which will broadcast the competition live via streaming.

Glòria Tello, councillor responsible for the Iturbi Prize, Councillor for Culture at Valencia City Council and President of the Palau de la Música, expressed her satisfaction “at the support shown by the public, fans and music lovers for this internationally renowned competition on its 40th anniversary, which is proof of Valencia’s sensitivity to music”. Tello stressed that “the jury is noting the high level of the contestants and the difficulty in eliminating pianists who are demonstrating their great talent”.

Óscar Oliver, coordinator and advisor, stated that “we are witnessing a great edition of the Iturbi Prize that will mark a turning point in the competition due to the high level of performance of the pianists. We are in for a very close Grand Final”. Oliver stressed that “we should be proud of having overcome the obstacles, difficulties and uncertainties caused by Covid-19”.

Outstanding CVs

The contestants who will compete in the Grand Final of the Iturbi Prize have outstanding CVs and artistic careers, have won numerous international prizes and collaborate with leading orchestras. Pianist Salome Jordania began her studies with Natalia Natsvlishvili and won first prize in the Georgian National Piano Competition, the Tbilisi International Competition, the 8th International Television Competition for Young Musicians, The Nutcracker, in Moscow, and the Tbilisi National Chopin Competition, where the mayor of the Georgian capital awarded her a special prize as Cultural Ambassador of Georgia. That same year, she won first prize at the Frankfurt International Competition (Germany) and in 2017 she won the Norma Fischer Prize at the Wideman International Competition in Shreveport (USA).

Alexey Sychev studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. The Russian pianist is the only one to have won first prize in three international Liszt competitions in Weimar-Bayreuth (Germany), Parma and Grottammare in Italy, chaired by Martha Argerich, and was awarded prizes in Dublin and at the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona.

He won first prize at the Tucumán International Piano Competition (Argentina), the Dr. Luis Sigall in Chile, the World Online Piano Competition in the United States, the Princess Lalla Meryem Competition in Morocco, the Massarosa Competition in Italy, and the Radio Concertino Prague Competition in the Czech Republic, as well as other important awards in

Jaén, the Giovanni Battista Viotti Music Competition, and the San Marino Competition. The performer also won the Pro Musicis International Prize in Paris (France).

From Japan to France

Ryutaro Suzuki moved from Japan to France in 2008 to study at the Paris Conservatory, where he was a student of Bruno Rigutto and Hortense Cartier-Bresson. He is currently continuing his training with Eliso Virsaladze at the Fiesole School of Music (Italy). He has performed at major festivals such as the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad (Switzerland), the Festival de Nohant (France) and the Chopin Festival in Paris. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles such as the Tokyo, Odessa, Colombia and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Paris Conservatory. He has also won several international competitions, including the Île-de-France International Piano Competition (first prize), the Emil Gilels Competition (second prize), Val Tidone (second prize), Ciudad de Ferrol (best performance of Spanish music), Tbilisi (Chopin Prize) and was a semi-finalist in the Long-Thibaud-Crespin and George Enescu competitions. He performs in Europe, South America and Japan, his repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music and he has recorded two albums. The Iturbi Prize is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, an association based in Geneva that brings together competitions from countries on all five continents, including the most prestigious international music competitions in the world. The Valencia International Piano Competition is a member of the Alink-Argerich Foundation, which brings together most of the international piano competitions around the world.