University News Last updated 19 February 2021
A young music student is to give a live-streamed solo piano recital at Milan’s famous La Scala after being awarded first place in a prestigious international music competition.
2019 Busoni Prize winner Emanuil Ivanov, who is studying for a BMus degree at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University, will make his debut at the historic Italian opera house Teatro alla Scala on Saturday 27 February.
The 23-year-old’s recital will be broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide via La Scala’s website, European concert platform takt1 and Chinese arts and music streaming service Amadeus TV.
Delayed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, Emanuil’s debut marks the first-ever piano recital by a Busoni Prize winner at the 243-year old cultural landmark, known primarily for opera performances, and forms part of the Busoni Competition’s commitment to supporting its winners with performance opportunities across its network.
Dominique Meyer, Chief Executive Officer at Teatro alla Scala said, "We are pleased to collaborate with the Busoni Competition and to allow a new piano talent to be introduced to an international audience despite the restrictions on concerts and travel imposed by the pandemic. In this difficult period for everyone, it is essential to think about the extraordinary obstacles faced by young people who are just entering their concert career."
Emanuil Ivanov will perform ‘Fantasia after Bach’ by Italian composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, after whom the Busoni Prize was named in 1949, as well as Ravel’s Mirror Collection and Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 53.
Born in 1998 in Bulgaria, Emanuil Ivanov studied with Professor A.Kurtev, before joining Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the tutelage of Pascal Nemirovski and Anthony Hewitt.
In May 2019, Emanuil won both the second prize and the Audience Prize at the prestigious Allessandro Cassagrande International Piano Competition in Italy, before taking the top spot at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in September 2019 with a performance of Saint-Saëns Concert n. 2 op. 22 in Bolzano, Italy.
Emanuil's studies at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire have been enabled by a generous Scholarship provided by the Denis Matthews Memorial Trust.
The concert can be followed live on the official La Scala website on February 27 from 8pm CET (7pm GMT) and will remain online for a limited period of time.