HÀ NỘI — Popular Vietnamese pianist Lưu Hồng Quang won the second prize at the Oleggio International Piano Competition held in Italy from May 3-6.

“I am very happy to share a good news about my European trip this time. I was awarded the second prize in the Oleggio International Piano Competition in Italy last night! I am very grateful to my family, teachers and friends for all their sincere support. Thank you very much!” Quang wrote on his Facebook page.

The first edition of the competition attracted 80 contestants aged 18-37. After the qualifying round based on the contestants’ video clips, the jury chose 30 contestants for the final round, who were winners of various international contests, from Russia, Italy, France, Ukraine, Japan, China and Việt Nam.

Each contestant had to pass two further rounds. The first round was for 20 minutes. Six contestants from the first round were selected for the second round, in which the contestants had to play for 50 minutes.

Quang played S. Rachmaninoff’s Etude Tableux op. 33-9 and F. Liszt’s Apres Une Lecture de Dante at the first round. He played four pieces in the second round: M. Ravel’s Alborada del Gracioso, L. V. Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 2 - N3, A. Scriabin’s Two Poems Op. 32 and F. Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz.

Quang won second prize, while the first prize went to a Russian contestant and third prize was won by an Italian pianist.

The jury included noted pianists such as Olivier Cazal from France, Mario Coppola and Giuseppe Gullotta from Italy, Sofya Gulyak from Russia and Wang Xin from China.

Quang is the son of Lưu Quang Minh, a lecturer at the Việt Nam National Academy of Music. Quang studied at the academy from 1997 to 2007 under the guidance of Prof Trần Thu Hà, former rector of the academy.

“Quang is an example of a young generation of artists who never stop making efforts. I highly appreciate his strong willingness,” Hà told Việt Nam News.

“When I taught him, his talent was not polished enough. But then, with his diligence, he has achieved a lot of success and he has never been satisfied with himself. He continues to compete in prestigious competitions to better himself,” Hà added.

Between 2008 and 2012, Quang studied at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA), in Australia under the guidance of Kyung Hee Lee. In 2013-2015, he pursued his master’s degree at the University of Montreal, Canada, under the guidance of artist Đặng Thái Sơn.

This is the 14th international prize Quang has won since 2006. He teaches music at AMPA, Sydney, Australia. — VNS