Ukrainian Roman Lopatynskyi (opening photo) has won the piano section of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition, currently taking place in Bucharest. Russian pianist Tatiana Dorokhova was placed second, while Russian Evgeny Konnov was third.

In the final, Lopatynskyi performed Johannes Brahms’s Concerto No. 2 in B flat major for piano and orchestra op. 83. He was accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Christian Reif.

Tatiana Dorokhova performed the Concerto No. 1 in D minor for piano and orchestra op. 15 by Brahms while Evgeny Konnov performed the Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor for piano and orchestra op. 23 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The jury of the piano section included pianists Lilya Zilberstein, who was also the president of the jury, Luiza Borac, Dana Borșan, Sina Kloke, Vovka Ashkenazy, Andrei Pisarev, Simon Trpčeski, and Alexander Shtarkman, and manager Martin Campbell-White.

The first prize in the competition was worth EUR 15,000, the second prize was EUR 10,000, and the third prize was EUR 5,000. At the same time, the winners are offered the chance to perform in the 2025 and 2026 editions of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, as well as in concerts organized during the philharmonic seasons in the country.

Among the special awards offered, the Radu Lupu Award for the best interpretation of a work by George Enescu, amounting to EUR 3,000, was won by Roman Lopatynskyi, who performed the Sonata No. 3 in D major op. 24. The prize for the best interpretation of the assigned work, composed by Diana Rotaru, was won by Tatiana Dorokhova. The award is worth EUR 2,000.

The Constanța Erbiceanu Award, offered by the Erbiceanu Cultural Foundation, worth EUR 2,500 net, was won by Alexa Stier. The prize is attributed to a Romanian competitor.

The Audience Award, worth EUR 1,000, was won by Evgeny Konnov.

(Photos: Alex Damian, courtesy of Enescu Competition)

simona@romania-insider.com