Czech pianist scores with prestigious prize

Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček has won the Queen Elisabeth Competition for young musicians, which is considered the world’s most demanding piano contest. The 29-year-old Czech impressed the jury with his performance of Sergei Rachmaninov in Brussels last week. He will receive the award, including a cheque for 25,000 euros, at a gala ceremony on Tuesday attended by Belgium’s Queen Mathilde.

Lukáš Vondráček, photo: Irene Kim / HarrisonParrott

Lukáš Vondráček, accompanied by the Royal Chamber orchestra of Wallonia, gave a breath-taking performance of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto. His appearance in the finals of the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition at the Centre of Fine Arts in Brussels on Saturday got him a standing ovation and reportedly brought tears to the eyes of Queen Mathilde.

The Belgian daily La Libre Belgique praised Vondráček’s performance, saying that he dominated the competition with his mature rendition and astonishing technique. On a lighter note, they also remarked that the Czech pianist, whose appearance usually resembles a "Carpathian bear", did not forget to shave this time.

Born in Opava in north Moravia in 1986, Lukáš Vondráček’s musical talent was spotted at the age of two by his parents, both professional pianists. After giving his first concert at the age of four, the child prodigy made his first international tour six years later and his Carnegie Hall debut at sixteen. To date he has given over a thousand concerts in 27 countries around the world.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory, Lukáš Vondráček has won a number of awards, including the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Award for the most exceptional young artist in Europe. In 2012 he recorded a CD featuring works by Haydn, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. Despite his indisputable talent, Lukáš Vondráček’s reaction on winning the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition was very modest:

Lukáš Vondráček, photo: Irene Kim / HarrisonParrott

“Of course I am very honoured. I believe it is as great success but I don’t want to talk about myself. It is music that I am interested in, exploring and understanding it. It is a life-long process in which you are constantly learning something new.”

Established in 1937, the Queen Elisabeth Competition soon became one of the leading international competitions for the violin and the piano; later, it was extended to include composition and voice and starting in 2017 it will also include the cello. The competition owes its reputation to the very strict rules under which it is organised as well as to the prestigious jury, made up of outstanding artists and internationally renowned educators.

Lukáš Vondráček is the only Czech musician to have won the prestigious award. Other Czech pianists who made it to the finals included Stanislav Knor, Igor Ardasev and Jan Simon.