Posts by: Remy Franck

The winner of ICMA’s 2023 Discovery Award is 16-year-old Austrian violinist Leonhard Baumgartner, a scholar of the International Music Academy Liechtenstein. He already won prizes like 1st Prize at Zhuhai International Mozart Competition, 1st Prize and Grand Prix at Stockholm International Music Competition. He also was Wiener Symphoniker Talent and made his debut as soloist…

Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (Tehran, 1984) won an ICMA 2023 in the Category Baroque Instrumental with his CD Bach: Italian Concerto – French Overture (Hyperion). Eduardo Torrico from the Spanish magazine Scherzo, member of the ICMA Jury, made the following interview with the artist. Mahan Esfahani never leaves anyone indifferent. Neither when he plays music…

The repertoire for the viola is limited. But it is growing – also thanks to Sào Soulez Larivière. The viola virtuoso, born in 1998, loves to arrange works for his instrument and experiment with the contemporary. His musical brilliance and versatility have already earned him several awards. This year he is the recipient of the…

« A cellistic high-flyer with fine creative ability who has phenomenal command of his instrument »: this is how music critic Norbert Hornig described the young cellist Gabriel Schwabe five years ago. Schwabe, born in Berlin in 1988, has maintained his flying height and consolidated his excellent reputation – also thanks to the highly acclaimed albums he…

German violinist Tassilo Probst and American pianist Maxim Lando, both 20 years old, won in the ICMA Chamber Music category with their CD ‘Into Madness’. Pizzicato’s Remy Franck made the following interview with the two musicians, the youngest ever to win in a category in which the competition is always particularly fierce. First, let us…