The Malta International Piano Competition starts on April 16, in Valletta — Europe’s official capital of culture 2018. Looking for new names and promoting young talents is one of the crucial tasks of this musical forum. This year, organizers launched an unprecedented campaign: 11 piano competitions were held in various cities across Eurasia. Looking back, one cannot help but feel awed by the scale of the event: the grand project called “11 Ways to Malta” linked various places with different traditions, cultures, and mindsets: Shanghai, Tokyo, Astana, Spain’s Granada, Italy’s Brescia, Yerevan, Vienna, Valletta, Moscow, Berlin, Cologne…
728 musicians took part in the “11 Ways to Malta” representing 74 countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam.
55 winners of all the 11 competitions are now getting ready for the final stage of the unforgettable marathon, for step 12th — the final round of the Malta International Piano Competition to be held on April 16—29. 15 other finalists were chosen pursuant to rigorous selection. They will compete with all they have got for Europe’s largest prize fund, 200,000 euros distributed as follows: 1st prize: 100,000 euros, 2nd prize: 50,000 euros, 3rd prize: 25,000 euros, 4th, 5th, and 6th prizes: 6,000 euros each.
The jury will also award two special prizes: 5,000 euros for the best performance of a work by a Maltese composer and 2,000 euros to the best performer from Malta. The jury judging young pianists artistic skills comprises world-famous members of the musical industry: the 1st round (April 16-19): Constantine Orbelian (chairman), Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Georg Friedrich Schenk, Gerrit Glaner, Ilja Scheps; the 2nd round (April 21-28) and the final round (April 29): Constantine Orbelian (chairman), Dmitri Alexeev, Dmitri Bashkirov, R. Douglas Sheldon, Alexander Sokolov, Zhe Tang, Golda Vainberg-Tatz, Arie Vardi.
The European Foundation for Support of Culture, the Festival’s organizer, note, “this piano competition will mark the summit of the entire forum’s history.” And it is, indeed, true, since discovering new talents to shine on the musical empyrean is an event of no less significance for music lovers and professionals than enjoying the consummate art of established stars and cultural luminaries.