Congcong Chai fron Hong Kong, who performed Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.1 in F-sharp Minor, will receive a cash prize of $1,500 and a concert engagement to perform his piano concerto with the Dallas Chamber Symphony on April 30th, 2013 at Dallas City Performance Hall. Thomas Steigerwald claimed the Second Prize, and will receive a cash award of $1,000 for his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor. Jeannette Fang took Third Prize, and will receive a cash award of $500 for her performance of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major. Finalists Alex McDonald and HanQing Zhou both received Honorable Mentions for their performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, respectively.
The DCS International Piano Competition was held in three rounds at Caruth Auditorium at Southern Methodist University’s Owen Arts Center March 14-16, 2013. The Dallas Chamber Symphony presents its annual International Piano Competition in community partnership with the SMU Meadows School of the Arts. Jurors Pamela Mia Paul, Andrey Ponochevny and Young-Hyun Cho adjudicated the competition. Quarter-finalists of the competition took advantage of opportunities to work with the Meadows School’s piano faculty, including a public masterclass taught by Dr. Carol Leone, Co-Chair of the Keyboard Department and Associate Professor of Piano. Dr. David Karp and Alfred Mouledous also volunteered their time to offer private piano lessons to competition participants.
