Finalists: from left, winner Shunta Morimoto, second-placed Thomas Kelly, Sandro Nebieridze, Fedor Orlov, Aleksandr Kliuchko and Mariamna Sherling.

Japanese teenager lifts piano competition prize

Top prize in Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition went to 17-year-old Shunta Morimoto from Japan, with the UK’s Thomas Kelly the runner-up, as the prestigious classical music event returned after a three-year absence. Nick Terdre reports, photos by Peter Mould.

Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition (HIPCC) reached its climax at a crowded and enthusiastic White Rock Theatre last night with Japan’s Shunta Morimoto, 17 years old, declared the winner by the jury. He topped his performance over the 10 days of the competition with a spirited rendition of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Opus 54.

In addition to the £15,000 first prize and the Molly Townson Memorial Trophy, Morimoto is guaranteed future performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and other engagements including in the US.

The £7,000 second prize went to 23-year-old Thomas Kelly, the first Brit to make the finals in several years, who won rapturous applause from the last night audience for his performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 in D Minor, Opus 30.

All six finalists were accompanied, as usual, by the RPO under its conductor Rory Macdonald.

This was the first outing for the competition since it went biennial after the 2019 edition. That was also the last time the town was able to enjoy it, as Covid caused its cancellation last year.

Shunta Morimoto ends his finals performance.

“Electrifying”

Ian Roberts, managing director of Hastings International Piano, the organiser, called it the “best ever competition here in Hastings…The atmosphere has been electrifying.” HIPCC’s focus on the piano concerto made it a unique competition, he said.

The international jury, presided over by Prof Vanessa Latarche of the Royal College of Music, gave the prize for third place to Mariamna Sherling, fourth to Aleksandr Kliuchko and fifth to Fedor Orlov, another 17-year-old, all from Russia. In sixth place was Sandro Nebieridze from Georgia.

Of the two special prizes, the £1,000 award for the best semi-final performance went to Kelly and the £500 award by members of the RPO based on performances in rehearsal to Kliuchko.

In addition to the live audience, the competition was also live-streamed to the world. Despite Covid interruptions, it clearly retains its popularity among young pianists, attracting 360 submissions from 40 countries to the video audition, of whom 45 were invited to perform in Hastings.

The 16th HIPCC saw the inaugural participation of the newly formed Royal College of Music Prince Consort Orchestra, which provided accompaniment for the 12 participants who made it to the semi-finals. The graduate orchestra is a collaboration between the college and Hastings International Piano.

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