As a part of new festival program entitled Key to the Future that presents young laureates of prestigious international music competitions Russian pianist Andrey Gugnin held a recital last night, 22 August, in Rector’s Palace atrium. The young virtuoso was presented at last week's concert, where he, along with fellow violinist Stephen Waarts, delighted festival audience. Last night's performance was really enthusiastic experience for festival audience and it belongs to one of the best performances in the 67th Dubrovnik Summer Festival.
The repertoire of his piano recital consisted ofMedtner’s Sonata Romantica No.1 in B-flat minor,Enrique Granados's Love and Death, Chopin's 12 etudes which Gugnin skillfully interpreted as if they were a single entity. Etudes from the cycle “8 Etudes” by Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo Gugnin performed furiously and wittily. The audience didn't want young virtuoso to leave the stage – he performed two encores and endowed audience with music by Sibelius and Prokofiev. Gugnin showed that he's one of the world's most promising young pianists.
Andrey Gugnin was born in 1987. He graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied under Professor Vera Gornostayeva. Almost immediately after his graduation from the conservatory, he was invited to be a regular participant of the Moscow Philharmonic Society program for promising young artists The 21st century stars. Gugnin is the prize-winner at the Allegro vivo international competition in San Marino (Italy, 2008), the International Competition in Cantù (1st prize, 2009), the International Stančić Competition in Zagreb (2nd prize and two special prizes, Croatia, 2011), the Ludwig van Beethoven Competition in Vienna (Austria, 2013) and the Valsesia musica international competition in Italy (1st prize, 2014). In June 2014 he won the Gold Medal and the Audience Award at the XVI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA). In the coming season Andrey's first solo concert at the Carnegie Hall is expected.
This evening in Rector’s Palace, as a part of the Key to the Future program, young laureates -violinist Aleksey Semenenko and pianist Inna Firsova - are going to perform. Tomorrow, 24 August, Russian pianist Yury Favorin will perform for the closure of this new music program. Tickets are available online, at the box office in the ground floor of the Festival Palace (Od Sigurate 1) and at the venue one hour before the performance.