Piano prodigy Ana Kipiani takes handful of prizes at French competition

Young Georgian pianist Ana Kipiani triumphed at France’s annual Piano Campus International Competition by taking seven prizes including the silver prize of the contest on Sunday.

The up-and-coming artist impressed the jury of the 16th edition of the event that wrapped up on March 5 in town of Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris.

Kipiani was earlier selected as one of the three finalists to compete for the ultimate honours on Sunday.

Piano Campus Prix Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise: ANA KIPIANI @Festivalauvers@PascalEscandepic.twitter.com/iSDduNhcwc

— Piano Campus (@PianoCampus) March 6, 2017

While the Georgian pianist finished behind China’s Hin-Yat Tsang in the contest for the Gold Piano Campus prize, she still took the Silver Piano Campus ahead of Cadmiel Botac of Romania.

And the young artist collected six of the ten remaining prizes at the event, including the audience prize and the award from the French Society of Music Authors, Composers and Editors (SACEM).

The full list of additional prizes and their recipients is below:

• The Audience Prize: Ana Kipiani
• The SACEM Prize: Ana Kipiani
• Theatre 95 Prize: Ana Kipiani
• Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise Prize: Ana Kipiani
• Piano au Musee Wurth Prize: Ana Kipiani
• The Pianiste Prize: Ana Kipiani
• Jean-Baptiste Lully Conservatory Prize: Denis Linnik
• Barreau du Val d'Oise Prize: Dmytro Choni
• Mazda Pontoise Prize: Simon Buerki
• Jejouedupiano.com Prize: Hin-Yat Tsang
• Melo'dix Orchestra Prize: Cadmiel Botac

The Sunday final featured three finalists performing a piece for piano and orchestra by guest composer Aurelien Dumont as well as the First Movement of the Concerto in A Minor Opus 54 by Robert Schumann.

The performances were followed by voting from the judges and the public, with results announced afterwards.

Kipiani swept up the French competition's prizes on Sunday. Photo: Ana Kipiani/Facebook.

The annual festival is open to pianists from across the world aged 16-25. The event is promoted as "a springboard for young artists ... to start an international career”.

Kipiani is studying at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory under the famous Georgian pianist and professor Eliso Virsaladze.

The up-and-coming artist has already performed at various international venues including the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands and performed alongside bands including the Vilnius Philharmonic Orchestra in Lithuania.