SIX PIANISTS FROM BELARUS, CHINA, GEORGIA, JAPAN AND RUSSIA REACH FINAL OF ITURBI PRIZE

29/06/2021

· Zifan Ye (China), Salome Jordania (Georgia), Alexey Sychev (Russia), Andrei Ivanou (Belarus), Airi Katada (Japan), and Ryutaro Suzuki (Japan) advance to the final of the Valencia International Piano Competition

· The contestants will compete in the final on 29 and 30 June, and the best three will perform in the Grand Final on 2 July, during which the pianists will perform two piano concertos with the Orquesta de València, conducted by Rubén Gimeno

· The public is responding enthusiastically to this edition of the Iturbi Prize, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and there are few tickets left for the upcoming concerts. Tickets for the Grand Final are sold out

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

Valencia, 29 June 2021

The jury of the Iturbi Prize, the Valencia International Piano Competition, organised by the Provincial Council of Valencia, has announced the six pianists who have reached the final: Zifan Ye (China), Salome Jordania (Georgia), Alexey Sychev (Russia), Andrei Ivanou (Belarus), Airi Katada (Japan), and Ryutaro Suzuki (Japan).

The contestants selected will compete in the final on 29 and 30 June, and the best three will perform in the Grand Final on 2 July, during which the pianists will perform two piano concertos with the Orquesta de València, conducted by Rubén Gimeno. The performances will begin at 7:30 pm in the Teatro Principal.

The public is responding enthusiastically to this edition of the Iturbi Prize, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and there are few tickets left for the upcoming concerts; those for the Grand Final are sold out. Admission to all stages is free of charge, subject to prior reservation via the website servientradas.com. This musical event can also be enjoyed worldwide on the Provincial Council of Valencia’s YouTube channel at https://cutt.ly/Fmr1fAG and on Vimeo at https://cutt.ly/1mr1lqh, which will broadcast the competition live via streaming.

The competition will award a total of €89,000 in cash prizes to the winners of the Valencia International Piano Competition. The prizes in this special edition have been increased by

70% compared with the previous competition: the first prize will be €30,000, a management contract with the prestigious company IMG Artists and the recording of a CD by the record label IBS Classical; the second prize will be €20,000 and the third prize €10,000, as well as a concert tour in Spain and abroad for the top three winners.

Other prizes

The three finalists who do not reach the Grand Final will receive €5,000, and the best of them will receive €3,000 from Valencia City Council. €2,000 in prize money will also be awarded to the best performer of Spanish music by the Provincial Council of Valencia; the best performances of a piece by Chopin by Valencia City Council; of a Mozart sonata by Valencia Philharmonic Society; of a Beethoven concerto by Kawai; and the best contestant chosen by the public, awarded by Clemente Pianos. The best performance of Imatges, a work by Óscar Colomina commissioned for the anniversary of the Iturbi Prize, will receive €1,000 from Polimúsica.