Spain’s Josu de Solaun won on Saturday, September 27, the first prize in the piano section of the George Enescu competition in Bucharest. Young Russian pianist Ilya Rashkovskiy came second, while Vassilis Varvaresos got the third prize.

As a laureate of the Enescu Competition,  the Spaniard is invited to perform next year at the prestigious Ravello Festival in Italy.

The piano final concluded on Saturday the 14th edition of Enescu Competition, when the three finalists played, together with George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 by Tchaikovsky and Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 by Rachmaninof. The event took place at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.

Born on October 27, 1981, the Spanish pianist has performed as a soloist with prestigious international orchestras such as Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Sinfonietta, and Leos Janacek Symphony Orchestra. At the Romanian competition, De Solaun played George Enescu’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 24 in the semifinals and Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 by Tchaikovsky in the final.

The laureate of the 2014 Enescu Competition’s violin section is the Romanian-born violinist Ștefan Tarara, which now lives in Germany, while the winner of the cello section is South Korean Sun-Eun Hong.

A total of 240 young artists from 36 countries participated at the George Enescu competition. The event’s total prizes amounted to over EUR 100,000.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo credit: Catalina Filip)