22-year old Joshua Han from New South Wales has been announced as the First Prize winner for the 2024 Australian National Piano Award.
In addition to the First Prize Award, Han collected four other special prizes, including The Shepparton News Prize, The Leona and Bruce Sterling Prize, The Pam Wells Prize and The Lorna Speechley Memorial Prize.
Second Prize was awarded to 25-year-old Rio Xiang from New South Wales and Third Prize was presented to 21-year-old Jude Holland from Western Australia.
Over the past six days, 13 emerging Australian or Australian-based classical pianists performed a total of 34 solo recitals covering four centuries of piano masterpieces at Riverlinks Eastbank Shepparton in regional Victoria.
The Award finalists travelled from across Australia (and some from overseas) to perform a minimum of two solo piano recitals. The wide range of repertoire selected was from the Baroque and Classic periods, as well as the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries including works by Australian composers.
The repertoires included major works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Balakirev, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, Chaminade, Albeniz, Turina, Webern, Rautavaara, Crumb, Bennett, to name just a few. Australia was also well represented, including works by Vine, Edwards, Sculthorpe, Harvey, Dean amongst others.
Early in the week, each Award finalist was required to play two 45 minute solo piano recitals. Then five finalists were selected for the semi final on Friday afternoon, where the Award adjudicators selected the three pianists to perform in the grand final on Saturday evening.
Award Artistic Director, Wendy Lorenz explained that audiences were treated to a truly exhilarating week of pianism and as an added bonus, an opportunity to explore the delights across Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley.
“Each Award finalist presented at least two full solo piano recitals, demonstrating their musical depth across an amazingly wide range of styles and genres. It was a joy and a privilege to witness the next generation of emerging pianists, each offering a unique view of the repertoire,” said Lorenz.
Award President, Darryl Coote highlighted that the Award is a significant national arts event, “We are so proud that it has been hosted in Shepparton since 1992,” he said.
“When the Award was co-founded with some passionate local residents so many years ago – we did not imagine it would develop into what it is today. It is a wonderful and highly sought after pathway for young emerging Australian pianists.”
“I am extremely grateful to all our ongoing and previous partners who have generously supported the Award. In particular, I want to acknowledge our Board, Associates and many other volunteers who invest over 5,000 unpaid hours to deliver this event every two years,” said Coote.
To continue presenting this highly-respected event of excellent standard, the Award Board are seeking additional ongoing and significant funding. For each biennial presentation, it costs over $250,000 to deliver the Award.
“Without additional financial support, it is unclear how long we will be able to continue presenting future Awards. Our Board is focussed on providing young Australian-based pianists with this significant opportunity – one that they wouldn’t receive anywhere else in the world,” said Coote.
During the week, the Award adjudicators: Jayson Gillham, Associate Professor Rae de Lisle MNZM and Doctor Tamara Smolyar assessed the range of technical mastery displayed as well as performance styles and interpretive conviction.
The adjudicators also considered the finalists’ knowledge and understanding of the national, historic and cultural context of the works presented and how performance consistency is maintained across the chosen repertoire.
Following the grand final on Saturday evening, the Award adjudicators announced the prize recipients:
2024 First Prize
$28k – The City of Greater Shepparton Prize
$5k – The Daphne and Ross Turnbull Bursary for music career development
Awarded to: Joshua Han
2024 Second Prize
$10k – The Fairley Foundation Prize
$3k – The Daphne and Ross Turnbull Bursary for music career development
Awarded to: Rio Xiang
2024 Third Prize
$5k – The Beleura, John Tallis Prize
$2k – The Daphne and Ross Turnbull Bursary for music career development
Awarded to: Jude Holland
Special Prizes
$1k – The Max Cooke Encouragement Award
Sponsored by the Australian National Piano Award
Awarded to: Brian Luo
$1k – The Shepparton News Prize
For best performance: Bach
Awarded to: Joshua Han
$1k – The Leona and Bruce Sterling Prize
For best performance: Mozart or Beethoven
Awarded to: Joshua Han
$1k – The Jenny Houlihan Prize
For best performance: Haydn or Schubert
Awarded to: Rio Xiang
$1k – The Pam Wells Prize
For best performance: Chopin
Awarded to: Joshua Han
$1k – The Horton Family Prize
For best performance: Romantic era (excluding Chopin) or 20th century music up to 1950
Awarded to: Nicolas Margarit
$5k – The Andreadis Family Australian Composition Commission Prize
For best performance for music composed after 1950
Awarded to: Kevin Suherman
$5k – The Lorna Speechley Memorial Prize
For best performance as voted by the audience
Awarded to: Joshua Han
For more information about the Australian National Piano Award, visit: www.australianpianoaward.com.au for details.
Image: Joshua Han – photo by Ludi Bekirofski