In the last week of April, an international jury selected remotely the finalists of this year’s International Radio Competition for Young Musicians ‘Concertino Praga’.
Two representatives from the Czech Republic, a 15-year-old violinist Daniel Matejča and a 13-year-old pianist Jan Schulmeister , and two representatives of the Russian interpretation school, a 14-year-old trumpet player Aleksandr Rublev and an equally old pianist Vsevolod Zavidov, will strive to win this year edition . They will perform for the audience and the jury at the public final concert of the competition in Rudolfinum on September 12th, 2020, accompanied by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Jiří Rožná. The live performances of the laureates will be immediately followed by an awards ceremony.
The finalists, together with four other best participants in the second round, will then perform at the South Bohemian festival Concertino Praga.
From the 54 registered participants, the jury of the 1st round selected 25 performers in February. However, due to the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, their recordings were evaluated online at the end of April, without the physical presence of jurors in Prague. On April 28th, a seven-member jury decided on four young musicians who will present themselves to the audience at the Dvořák International Music Festival in Prague on September 12th.
The absolute winner of the competition will get the opportunity to make his own promotional recording on Czech Radio. Other prizes include scholarships of 5,000, 2,800 and 1,700 EUR. Thanks to the support of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation and other partners, the award winners will receive these scholarships from the Academy of Classical Music for their further education in interpretation courses or for the purchase of a new instrument. In addition, listeners of the final competition will have the opportunity to award the audience prize.
In addition to scholarships and a profile CD, the jury of the 2nd round has already decided to award special prizes. The Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Award went to pianist Vsevolod Zavidov for the best interpretation of the composer’s work. Russian trumpet player and this year’s finalist Aleksandr Rublev won the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation Award, and the Bulgarian pianist Ivaylo Vassilev received an honorable mention from the same foundation . The prize for the youngest Czech participant in the 2nd round, donated by the Karel Komárek Family Foundation , was awarded to clarinetist Ondřej Toman.
“Concertino Praga is an original competition in many ways, for example: for the age of the competitors, for its radio form – two rounds take place by listening to recordings and anonymously, the subsequent South Bohemian Festival with several concerts in various environments of picturesque southern Bohemia. This year is the first in the new format of the final round and in cooperation with the Academy of Classical Music. All that remains is to wish that the joint effort with Czech Radio will move Concertino Praga a little higher again” concludes Kateřina Konopásková, Production Director of Czech Radio.
The final round of Concertino Praga wil be hold in Rudolfinum, Prague
Photo Credit © Concertino Praga
