STEINWAY PRIZE WINNER CONCERTS
In 2007, Steinway & Sons' own concert series for young prize winners - Steinway Prize Winner Concerts - was established. It began as a collaboration with the concert hall in Leipzig - Gewandhaus - but is today a network of partners all over Germany. The concert series also extends to other countries, and is of course an important part of the company's branding.
Read more about the story behind Steinway & Sons here.
HIGHLY QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS
It's Steinway & Sons himself chooses which pianists will be included in the series. The requirement is previous participation in various piano competitions. But that does not always mean that the winner is chosen. The level in these competitions is often so high that the jury's decision is not always unanimous. There may also be factors other than the purely musical of importance, such as age. For Steinway & Sons' purpose is nevertheless to help young award winners further in their careers.
In 2016, the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival entered into a collaboration with the Grieg Competition in Bergen. The winner of the piano competition gets participation in Lofoten as part of the first prize. The Korean winner Ah Ruem Ahn was first out in 2018. It was in Bergen that the festival was offered to become part of the Steinway Prize Winner Concerts. The festival is free to choose among their prize winners. The prerequisite is that their prize winner participates in a separate concert where the concept is marketed.
Read more about the festival here >>>
Already in 2019, a separate Steinway Prize Winner Concert with Georgy Tchaidze was arranged during the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival. In 2020, the Japanese Ryoma Takagi, winner of the Grieg competition in 2018, was to have a concert under this concept. Unfortunately, the festival was canceled this year.
The collaboration with the Steinway Prize Winner Concerts and the Grieg competition has great value for the festival both in terms of visibility, networking and status. This is also largely thanks to Lofoten's high number of concert grand pianos from Steinway & Sons.