Pianist Luu Hong Quang claims second at competition in Italy

Talented Vietnamese pianist Luu Hong Quang won second prize at the Oleggio International Piano Competition, which took place in Italy from May 3 to 6.

Pianist Luu Hong Quang (middle) won second prize at the Oleggio International Piano Competition (Photo credit: Pianist Luu Hong Quang)
Pianist Luu Hong Quang (middle) won second prize at the Oleggio International Piano Competition (Photo credit: Pianist Luu Hong Quang)

The contest attracted the participation of 30 pianists, aged between 18 and 37, from countries around the world, including Russia, Italy, France, the UK, Japan, China and Vietnam. They were shortlisted from 80 entrants through their pre-qualification videos.

The competition was divided into two trials: preliminary and final. In the preliminary round, they took part in a programme lasting a maximum of 20 minutes, including a study of the celebrated composers of Chopin, Liszt, Scriabine, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Prokofiev, Bartòk, Strawinsky, and Ligeti.

The six outstanding contestants were admitted to the finale, in which they performed a programme lasting a maximum of 50 minutes, including a significant (Opera) work selected from the following authors: Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Clementi, Beethoven, and Schubert.