Friday 18th March marks 6 months since our five Finalists anxiously waited on the Leeds Town Hall stage to hear who had been crowned our 2021 Prize-winners. What a busy 6 months they have had – take a look below to see Alim, Kaito and Ariel’s highlights since they became Leeds Prize-winners!
Alim Beisembayev | First Prize-winner
September 2021 – Less than a week after his win, Alim’s debut EP was released, featuring a selection of performances recorded live during the Competition at Leeds Town Hall, including music by Scarlatti, Ligeti and Ravel
October 2021 – St George’s, Bristol welcomes Alim fresh from his win to perform as part of the Bristol Keyboard Festival
December 2021 – Alim makes his debut as The Leeds winner at Wigmore Hall, stepping in for Garrick Ohlsson at the last minute, performing Clementi, Chopin & Liszt
January 2022 – Alim performs Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the RCM Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano (watch here)
February 2022 – Alim performs in the prizewinners’ concert of the SWR Symphony Orchestra, alongside Fedor Rudin (watch here)
Kaito Kobayashi | Second Prize-winner
December 2021 – Kaito performs Bartok’s 3rd Piano Concerto with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Japan
January 2022 – Alongside the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra, Kaito performs the iconic Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini, Op. 43
February 2022 – Kaito celebrated joining Amati artist management as one of their artists in Japan.
February 2022 – Newly signed, Kaito performs a second concert of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini with Gaetano D’espinosa
Ariel Lanyi | Third Prize-winner
November 2021 – Ariel travels to France and Italy to perform recitals with soprano Sarah Gilford
January 2022 – Ariel returns to Leeds for the first time since the Competition and performs alongside violinist, Iréne Duval (both a part of YCAT – Young Classical Artists Trust) as part of the University of Leeds International Concert Series
February 2022 – The Wesley Centre Harrogate welcomes Ariel to perform a lunchtime recital including Mozart and Beethoven Piano Sonatas
March 2022 – Ariel performs a duo concerts at Ripon Holy Trinity Church and Skipton Town Hall
We look forward to seeing what these fantastic young pianists get up to in the next 6 months, including the much-anticipated release of Alim’s debut album.
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