The Chopin Foundation of the United States announced the prizewinners of the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition on Sunday, Mar. 1, at Miami-Dade County Auditorium. Following an arduous week for 25 contestants performing works by Frederic Chopin, the jury crowned 18-year-old Avery Gagliano first prizewinner.
She receives the highest cash award of $100,000 for an American piano competition, a recording contract on the Steinway & Sons label, a solo concert at New York’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (June 16), among many other appearances through a pre-scheduled concert tour that begins this month in Sanibel and Sarasota, and then back to Miami in April for the Chopin Foundation’s Chopin Salon series.
Gagliano is a student of one of the greatest piano pedagogues of all time, Gary Graffman. In October 2020, she will compete at one of the top piano competitions globally, the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland.
Prizewinners: First Prize – $100,000, Avery Gagliano;
Second Prize – $30,000, Evren Ozel;
Third Prize – $20,000, Parker Van Ostrand;
Tied Fourth Prize – Umi Garrett ($5,000) and Chelsea Guo ($5,000), and
Sixth Prize – $5,000, Talon Smith.
Special prizes:
Best Mazurka – $2,000, Evren Ozel;
Best Polonaise – $2,000, Evren Ozel;
Best Sonata – $2,000, Parker Van Ostrand,and
Best Concerto – $2,000, Avery Gagliano.
With over 80,000 live-stream cumulative views throughout the week, many in the music industry followed closely as this competition often marks the start of a successful artist’s career. Previously in 2015 at the last National Competition, Eric Lu was given first prize and later won gold at the Leeds International Piano Competition and fourth prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. He now holds a record deal with Warner Classics and a thriving concert career.
Now, first prizewinner Avery Gagliano embarks on an extensive concert tour to prestigious halls such as Salle Cortot in Paris and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. Other tour stops include cities such as Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and St. Petersburg.
