Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

Piano music lovers – and they are legions – must have felt like they were in heaven the past couple of weeks while the Gurwitz International Piano Competition took over several music venues in town. Presented by the non-profit Musical Bridges Around the World, the competition attracted 76 young pianists from around the world, of which 12 were chosen as contestants. They came from several countries, all known for nurturing and supporting new piano talents: China, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S.

The up-and-coming piano stars competed through four rounds of competition in different San Antonio venues, from the University of the Incarnate Word and the Carver Community cultural Center to the Tobin Center for the Performing arts. While they performed many well-known piano compositions from the vast classical piano repertoire, they were also asked in the third round to include a composer from their own countries/cultures, a rather unique but appreciated request.  They also played an original composition written for the occasion by San Antonio composer Aaron Prado. For the last competition concert, the three finalists – all women – performed at the Tobin Center with the Mexico City Orchestra conducted by jury chair Scott You.

After the final Tobin round, the top three medalists were chosen. They are:

GOLD MEDAL: Yungyung Guo, China

SILVER MEDALIST: Tatiana Dorokhova, Russia

BRONZE MEDALIST: Young Sun, S. Korea.

The gold medalist is only 20 years old. She started studying piano at the age of four. She also won the Gold from the Manhattan International Music Competition, and first prize from the World Piano Teachers Association International Piano Competition. And a number of other competitions. Her first album under the Orpheus Label is about to be released.

Silver medalist, Tatiana Dorokhova is similarly impressive. She started studying the piano at six. A few years later she continued her studies at the Central Music School and the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. She has won first prizes in several competitions in Russia and Ukraine, as well as in Italy, Germany and the 2022 New Orleans International Piano Competition in the U.S. She has performed with the great orchestras of the world., including the Berlin Philharmonic and the St. Petersburg and Moscow Philharmonics.

And, not surprisingly, the bronze medalist, Young Sun Choi, also has a remarkable resume. She received a master’s degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of music. Since 2018, she has been studying with Arnaldo Chen for her doctorate and serving as an associate piano instructor at the Indiana Jacobs School of Music. She has also won top awards in several piano competitions, including first place at the 26^th Rina Sala Gallo Monza IPC.

So, we wanted to know what MBAW founder, pianist Anya Grokhovski, thought of the 2024 Gurwitz IPC.

“It exceeded my expectation,” she said in response to our questions, “The level of participants was extremely high?  Due to the level of the finalists, “there was a debate about possibly giving two first prizes. But because it was not in our rules, we stayed with the usual format of first, second and third place. These musicians were incredibly high-level musicians. Also, what was different this time is that the jury included, not only concert pianists like last time, but also industry leaders capable of helping with career development for the winners. Another thing that was different is having a philharmonic orchestra for the final round, and also the level of community support.”

Another good thing was the number of international viewers through the livestream,” she added.

Asked what she enjoyed most, the answer was easy:” A 10-day celebration of the art of piano from around the world and new friends.”

The next Gurwitz International Piano Competition will take place in four years.