Pianist Sandro Gegechkori wins Maria Canals competition in Barcelona
Gegechkori (pictured fifth from left) and his fellow finalists performed on Wednesday at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. Photo: Oliver Adell.
Tweet 
Share
Pianist Sandro Gegechkori won the 66th International Music Competition Maria Canals in the Catalan city of Barcelona on Wednesday, crowning his successful performances at the event that also saw the young performer use the limelight for a wider cause earlier in the week.
Gegechkori, 20, was presented with the First Prize of the contest by the jury team chaired by Carlos Cebro and involving Alexander Moutouzkine, Ewa Osinska, Mladen Tcholitch, Ramon Coll, Alba Venture and Uta Weyand.
The prize, handed out by Fundación Jesús Serra, also comes with a money prize of €25.000. Ziming Ren of China (age 25) ended up with the Second Prize of the competition, with Portugal's Rafael Kyrychenko (24) taking the third place award.
????El guanyador de la 66a edició del concurs internacional de música Maria Canals Barcelona 2021 el premi de de la @FundJesusSerra és per Sandro Gegechkori! #MariaCanals2021 pic.twitter.com/CZpARpqUDA
— Concurs Maria Canals (@mariacanals_bcn) July 14, 2021
Beside the award from the juries, Gegechkori was also the musical artist chosen for the audience prize, revealed as a result of online voting, after his performance of Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
Performing with Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès led by conductor Jordi Francés, the three contestants were hosted for the grand final at the Concert Hall of Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona.
Gegechkori reached the finals of the contest on Sunday, after playing works by Bach, Beethoven and Liszt. The young Georgian pianist dedicated the performances to the memory of TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, who was found dead at his home in Tbilisi on Sunday, after he was assaulted by right-wing groups demonstrating against Tbilisi Pride queer event on July 5.
The win at the 66th edition of the Catalan competition follows prizes claimed by Gegechkori - tutored by Alexander Garber, associate professor at Tbilisi State Conservatoire - at international contests, including the Feurich International Piano, Vocal and Chamber Music Competition in Vienna in 2017.