MAN WITH A GRAND PLAN
SYDNEY-BASED pianist Rio Xiang has wowed judges and a supportive Geelong crowd to add Australian Youth Classical Music competition title to his haul of international awards.
The 18-year-old impressed with his technical ability and variety across three performances during the two-day event with a mix of pieces from modern and baroque times to claim the $10,000 prize.
Xiang started the competition with Bach’s Toccata in C minor on day one and on day two had attendees in awe with his recital of Prokofiev’s Etude No.3 and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.6.
He said he felt he won the judges over with his interpretation.
“I tried to capture the mood of every moment in the piece and played each
note with my own meaning,” Xiang said. He also paid tribute to the other performers and the organisers. “I think they were all exceptionally highlevel and the competition standards were very high,” Xiang said. The product of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Composing teacher Richard Gill is off to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music next month to join his piano teacher, Uzbekistani-born American pianist Stanislav Ioudenitch, in the US. Xiang will compete in the Hamamatsu International Competition in Japan in November and is also preparing for the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition next year. Of the eight finalists, James Dong (NSW) won second prize on the viola, violin player Kyla Matsuura-Miller (Vic) was third, while Yen Yoo (Vic) was the crowd’s pick.