Classical music competitions, together with badminton and chess are where Chinese children seem to excel, almost prodigy like. So it comes as no surprise that the 11th International Youth Art Festival and Jiangsu Youth Piano Open Competition will kick off on 23 June 2018 at the Jiangsu Grand Theatre, continuing on to Japan and finishing in Germany.
Nanjing’s Jiangsu Grand Theatre is poised to be “a display platform for world-class works of art, and exchange platform for international art activities, and a promotion platform for public art education”. The only recently completed facility is a modern, large-scale theatre that is second only to China’s National Grand Theatre.
Putting its acoustics to the test, the Jiangsu Grand theatre, in the Olympic Stadium area, will be host to competitors from all around the world. Sponsored by the International Youth Art Promotion Association and the China-Japan Art Exchange Association; the Ministry of Education and the Culture Center of the Kimodano Town Government of Japan. Master classes have been organised by the Sino-German Culture and Art Exchange Center and the Bidingen Academy of Music Art, Germany.
The International Music Educators Association Jiangsu Branch, Nanjing Art Institute Art Design Institute have jointly organised the competition with Jiangsu International Channel, Jiangsu Education Channel, News channels of Nanjing Radio and TV, The Nanjinger magazine and other co-organisers.
The winning contestants and tutors will receive award certificates, prizes and international finals scholarships, jointly awarded by the Jiangsu Organizing Committee. All contestants will be able to obtain a video of the competition recorded by the Jiangsu TV station and the judges’ comments.
The Jiangsu expert assessment team is composed of the Chinese Musicians Association and Jiangsu famous performers and professors. The winners and instructors of the “Most Popular Awards” and “Wind Charm Awards” selected by the first-line teachers’ judging panel will serve as guest performers in the international finals and shall be featured by Jiangsu TV Station and The Nanjinger magazine.
The Competition shall then move to Japan for its final stages, from 20-24 July. Particpating players shall be required to apply for passports and visas in due timing.
In addition, there shall be the opportunity to participate in the German exchange section of the competition, from 14-20 August, which also represents a unique opportunity to visit the medieval style town of Büdingen.
Located in the central German state of Hess, the town dates back 1,300 years, to when the wooden church of Saint Remigius was built. Büdingen is best known for its heavily fortified medieval town wall that has been well preserved, together with its half-timbered houses. The town was also a military garrison for American troops, from the close of the Second World War until 2007.
The competition jury also includes a number of pre-eminents in the international piano world; Andre Steyr, Jonathan Arnel and Andrey Bach (below; left to right).
Andre Steyr is piano professor at the University of Music and Drama in Hamburg, Germany, who also each year conducts masters classes, for both students and teachers, at the Alfred Schnittke International Conservatory in Hamburg. 4 years of teaching young students from South Korea, Taiwan and China, in addition to conducting and teaching cultural exchanges have greatly influenced his way of teaching piano.
Jonathan Arnel studied at Hannover Conservatory of Music, Lübeck Music Institute, New England Conservatory of Music, and studied under Arie Vardi, Li Yundi and Professor Vardi. He is currently professor at Frankfurt School of Music and Hans Assler Conservatory in Berlin, in addition to being a guest performer at the China National Grand Theatre. He has also worked with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Andrey Bach began learning piano at the age of 5, studied with Karl-Heinz Kmmerling at the Hanover Conservatory of Music, and with Professor Pavel Gililov at the University of Cologne. In 1981 and 1983, Bach won first prize in the German national young musicians competition and went on to win numerous prizes in the following years. He made his first tours in the United States and Canada in 1987 and Japan in 1988. Since 2011, he is professor at the Freiburg Music Academy.
Those interested in registering for the Jiangsu Youth Piano Open Competition can do so via the QR code below.
