From 7 October to 14 October the Jāzeps Vītols VIII International Piano Competition is taking place in Latvia. The audience is invited to experience the final round of the competition in two different concerts on 13-14 October at 19:00 at the Liepāja Concert Hall “Lielais dzintars”, where the young talents will perform together with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the conductor Atvars Lakstīgala.
On Friday, October 13, at 7 p.m., Lithuanian pianist Edvin Švaikovski will play Mozart's 21st Piano Concerto with an orchestra, while Lithuanian pianist Mantas Šernius and Ukrainian pianist Mykyta Burzanitsa will each play Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto with an orchestra.
On Saturday, October 14, at 7 p.m., Malaysian pianist Julian Chan will play Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto, Latvian pianist Ērika Jākobsone - Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, and Latvian pianist Daniils Mickevičs - Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto.
The Jāzeps Vītols International Piano Competition is the greatest event in Latvian piano art, and it has become an important part of Latvian musical life.
Among the competition laureates and prize recipients were such well-known and now popular Latvian pianists as Juris Žvikovs, Sanita Šablovska, Jānis Zilbers, Toms Ostrovskis, Raimonds Petrauskis, Elīna Bērtiņa, Andrejs Osokins, Arta Arnicāne, Antoņina Suhanova and Iļja Domņins.
This year's competition is judged by an international jury consisting of: Ivari Ilja from Estonia, Juris Žvikovs and Toms Ostrovskis from Latvia, Niklas Pokki from Finland and Zbignevas Ibelgauptas from Lithuania.
The competition is organized and supported by the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the Concert Hall “Great Amber”, Liepāja City and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
