Competing with the best
Eleven finalists in Olga Kern’s piano competition set to perform at Popejoy
This year’s finalists for the Third Olga Kern International Piano Competition reflect global turmoil. The competition’s debut year in 2016 lured 100 applicants. This year’s group numbered just 96, said Marian Tanau, New Mexico Philharmonic executive director.
“I think that’s because we missed the Russians,” he said. “Their conditions of coming became a problem.”
The Ukrainians also disappeared, he added. In 2019, Ukrainian pianist Tetiana Schafan took first place.
Competition namesake Olga Vladimirovna Kern is a Russian-American classical pianist. She became an American citizen in 2016.
Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at the age of 5. She jump-started her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, as the first woman to do so in more than 30 years. She serves on the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music.
The 11 finalists will perform with the New Mexico Philharmonic at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Popejoy Hall. The competition is open to pianists ages 18-32.
The musicians hail from five countries, including the U.S., Poland, China, Italy and South Korea.
A jury of eight plus Kern will determine the winners, Tanau said. The pianists will compete for $35,000 in prize money. In addition to the cash , the winner will receive concert engagements throughout Europe and the U.S.
A July virtual round kicked off the contest. The current schedule is:
■ Oct. 24-25 — In-person second round 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 114 Carlisle Blvd. NE.
■ Oct. 27 — Semifinal chamber music round 6:30 p.m. at the Robertson & Sons Violin Shop, 3201 Carlisle Blvd. NE.
■ Oct. 29 — At 6 p.m., Popejoy Hall with the competition finalists in concert with the New Mexico Philharmonic and conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong, music director of the Eugene Symphony in Oregon.
■ Oct. 30 — At 3 p.m., awards ceremony and winner’s recital at Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
The in-person second round, semifinal round, the awards ceremony and winner’s recital are free. Tickets for the New Mexico Philharmonic range from $22-$90, plus fees at unmtickets.com or 505-925-5626.
All rounds can be streamed free at olgakerncompetition.org.