The German Piano Award looks for outstanding pianists. The award included prize money of 10,000 euros in 2016. This year the prize was awarded as special prize at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Conservatory Competition. Established in 1878 as a grant program, the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Conservatory Competition started off in 2013 with a new concept. The prizewinners will be selected in annually changing categories.
The first prize of the category piano 2016, named Mendelssohn Prize, included prize money of 8,000 euros.
Apart from cash prizes, the competition focuses on sustainable support by offering concert engagements and CD productions to the prizewinners.
The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Conservatory Competition is organised by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Rectors‘ Conference of German Conservatories. Traditionally, Berlin University of the Arts hosts the competition in its beautiful concert venues.
24 young pianists, nominated by the German conservatories, performed at the first round, eight reached the finals. Wataru Hisasue performed works by Mendelssohn Barthody, Beethoven, Sadikova, Liszt, Prokofjew and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne in a transcription for the left hand alone by Johannes Brahms. By the way Hisasue studies piano by professor Gilead Mishory at the conservatory in Freiburg.
Famous pianists and professors of German conservatories such as Bernd Glemser, Ewa Kupiec, Rudolf Meister, Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy, Antti Siirala and Brigitta Wollenweber attended the jury. Maryam Maleki represented the German Piano Award.
We congratulate Wataru Hisasue on two important prizes
At the winner concert he performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne in a transcription for the left hand alone by Johannes Brahms, the first movement of Mendelssohn’s first piano concerto and the Paraphrase de concert sur Rigoletto by Franz Liszt on a C. Bechstein grand piano D 282.
