2010 Competition

THE BRAZILIAN FABIO MARTINO, 22, was THE WINNER of the II International BNDES Piano Competition of Rio de Janeiro.  

MARTINO received the highest marks in the finals, followed by EVGENY BRAKHMAN from Russia and KOTARO FUKUMA from Japan. The final concert was held at Rio’s Opera House on Saturday, October 30, with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joseph Giunta.

Kotaro Fukuma, Fabio Martino and Evgeny Brakhman

The second edition of Brazil’s leading piano competition, whose sole sponsor is the National Development Bank (BNDES), ended on Saturday October 30, 2010; the victorious winner was the young 22-year-old Brazilian pianist  Fábio Martino  Fabio, who is from the state of Sao Paulo and is currently studying in Germany, won the top prize of R$ 80,000.  The Japanese pianist Kotaro Fukuma came in second place, and in third the Russian  Evgeny Brakhman . The judges also awarded Fabio Martino the prize for the Best Interpreter of Brazilian Music.  The Guiomar Novaes Prize, for future promise, went to the Chinese pianist Wai Yin Wong, who was just seventeen years old.

The prizes offered by the BNDES Competition total R$ 200,000 – one of the highest values of any International Piano Contest.

Out of ninety-seven candidates, twenty were selected.

Of the 97 candidates, twenty were selected for the first round: four from Russia, three from the United States, three from Brazil, two from China, and one from each of the following countries: Germany, Belarus, Canada, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Italy, Japan and Taiwan.

This second edition of the BNDES International Piano Competition paid tribute the incomparable Guiomar Novaes (1894-1979), and to the composer Edino Krieger – by whom every candidate played a piece.

The Judges

One of Europe’s best known pianists,  Leslie Howard, on his first visit to Brazil, presided over the panel of judges. The remainder of the panel was made up of two internationally acclaimed Brazilian pianists – José Feghali and Caio Pagano  – and a further six renowned pianists: Agustin Anievas,  Andreas Werz, Gabriel Kwok, Joseph Giunta, Konstantin Scherbakov and Pierre Réach.

Prizes

First Prize:
– R$ 80,000 and concerts in Brazil and Europe in 2011.

Second Place:
– R$ 55,000

3º place: 
– R$ 35,000

Prize for the Best Interpreter of  Brazilian Music:
– R$ 15,000

Guiomar Novaes Prize:
– R$ 15,000

Programme of the Finals

FÁBIO MARTINO - RACHMANINOV – Concerto nº 2 in D minor
KOTARO FUKUMA - LISZT – Concerto nº 1 in E flat major
EVGENI BRAKHMAN - RACHMANINOV – Concerto nº 3 in D minor

Book “Guiomar Novaes of Brazil” is released

Get to know more about the book written by the journalists Luciana Medeiros and João Luiz Sampaio.