The ARD International Music Competition in Munich has announced the prizewinners of its 74th edition, held this year in the categories clarinet, piano and trumpet.
Clarinet
The clarinet jury awarded the First Prize, Audience Prize and Special Prize for Interpretation of the Commissioned Work to Elad Navon. Second Prize went to Hongyi Jiang, and Third Prize to Lev Stamitz.
Elad Navon, born in Jerusalem in 2000, is currently completing his artistic diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles with Prof. Yehuda Gilad. He previously studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, and the University of Southern California. Navon has won prizes at competitions in Israel and the United States, and has performed with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the Haifa Symphony, the San Diego Symphony and the Colburn Orchestra, under conductors including Zubin Mehta, Lahav Shani, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Vasily Petrenko.
Piano
In the piano category, Liya Wang won the First Prize and Audience Prize. Elias Ackerley received the Second Prize along with the Special Prize for Interpretation of the Commissioned Work, while Third Prize was awarded to Ji Wony.
Liya Wang, 23, began playing piano at the age of four and studies with Manchun Chen at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she also receives organ and harpsichord instruction. She has been a participant in leading international competitions including the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Bolzano, the Dublin International Piano Competition, and the ARD Competition in 2022, where she reached the semi-finals. Her awards include the Yamaha Asian Music Scholarship and prizes at contests in Hanoi, Taipei and Beijing. Wang has appeared with ensembles such as the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, the International Union Symphony Orchestra in Taipei and the National Symphony Orchestra of Vietnam, and has performed in venues including Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Trumpet
The trumpet competition was led by Robin Paillet, who took the First Prize, Audience Prize and Special Prize for Interpretation of the Commissioned Work. Second Prize went to Sandro Hirsch, and Third Prize to Raphaël Horrach.
Robin Paillet, born in 2002 in the French Alps, studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Marx Geuion and Alexis Demailly, and since 2023 has continued his training with Reinhold Friedrich at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. He has already performed with the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, under conductors such as Klaus Mäkelä, Daniele Gatti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simone Young and Philippe Jordan. His competition successes include first prize at the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition (USA) and the August Everding Competition in Munich, as well as second prize at the Roger Voisin Competition in Miami.
A global platform
More than 600 applications from 51 nations were submitted for this year’s competition, with 169 musicians invited to Munich to take part in the four selection rounds. According to the organisers, 87% of participants came from outside Germany, reflecting the contest’s strong international standing.
The juries included prominent musicians such as Sharon Kam, Sabine Meyer, Homero Francesch, Antti Siirala, Anna Vinnitskaya and Reinhold Friedrich.
Founded in 1952, the ARD Competition has been a launchpad for generations of classical musicians. Past laureates include figures such as Jessye Norman, Mitsuko Uchida and Christian Tetzlaff. This year’s winners now join that distinguished tradition.
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