Mozart leaves indelible mark on City of Romance

The 2nd Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians closed with an unforgettable concert by young virtuosos and a premiere orchestra on Sept 24.

At the top of the performance was the comic singspiel Der Schauspieldirektor performed by the Salzburg Chamber Soloists. In their treatment of this 1786 masterpiece, the globally renowned Austrian orchestral group demonstrated its competence in Mozart's works. Its only peer is the Camerata Salzburg; the two groups are referred to as the twin stars of Mozart's hometown.

Melodic notes flowed from pianist and violinist winners in groups categorized by age. They include Chinese violinist Liu Yiming and pianist Wang Zhu in Group C for those between 17 and 23; and violinist María Due as Fernández from Spain and pianist Yu Yichen from China in Group B, for musicians aged 13 to 16.

Group A assembled musical talents under 12 and produced two top prizes taken by Chinese violinist Wang Shihan and Russian pianist Pyotr Akulov. Wang won accolades with masterful techniques while performing Polonaise de Concert in D Major, Op.4 by Henryk Wieniawski, a famed Polish violinist and composer.

The Best Audience Prizes were presented to two young Chinese artists, violinist Luo Chaowen and pianist U Chun Lam from Hong Kong.

Closing concert [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Zhou Huizhen, deputy secretary-general of the Zhuhai government, congratulated all players on the success of the competition and all medalists on behalf of the government and organizing committee. She spoke highly of the two consecutive biennial events held in Zhuhai which have enabled classical music to become part of Zhuhai's cultural background. The local government and Party officials are using it to step up the city's cultural environment and are confident about promoting an international venue in which teenager musicians from both East and West can exchange and compete. They envision that in the future Zhuhai will become widely known for its special brand of musical culture.

Sarah Wedl-Wilson, acting president of the University Mozarteum Salzburg, who cooperated to sponsor the event, expressed gratitude for help given by the Salzburg Chamber Soloists. As chair of judges, she appreciated professional work done by the jury and organizing teams during the contest. The beautiful coastal city of Zhuhai was acclaimed by Wilson as the ideal partner in the Pearl River Delta to co-organize the international musical competition away from Salzburg.

This year's competition was a huge success and neared perfection in the opinion of Johannes Honsig-Erlenburg, president of the Mozarteum Foundation. He thanked both the Zhuhai government and Huafa Group for their efforts and expected that the young stand-outs would continue to carry forward the musical spirit inspired in all of them by Mozart himself.

The ceremony marked the climax of a dozen days of classic repertoire at the Zhuhai Huafa & CPAA Grand Theatre.