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Prize Winners Playing all over
the World - Alessio Bax [2003.11.25]
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text by Kouichi Sumikawa
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 I
feel it very honorable to have been awarded the 1st prize. Because
the competition was on a very high level that has great pianists
as its contestants like Fredrick Kempf, the 3rd prizewinner,
Denis Matsuev who won the 1st prize at Tchaikovsky International
Competition in 1998, and others.
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 "Everything
was like a dream. I feel it very honorable to have been awarded
the 1st prize. Because the competition was on a very high level
that had great pianists like Fredrick Kempf, 3rd prizewinner,
Dennis Matsuev who won the 1st prize at Tchaikovsky International
Competition in 1998, and so on."
An electric piano from Bax's parents for the Christmas present
was the start for him to play the piano at 8 years old. Next year,
he entered the Conservatory of Bari, a prestige music school in
his native Italy. Normally it takes 10 years to graduate, but
he did only 5 years at the top of the list. In that school, he
met Joaquin Achucarro, the Spanish maestro of the Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, US when he attended many master classes.
Bax entered Southern Methodist University after graduation the
conservatory.
In the university, he majored Piano Performance and obtained Master
of Music degree. During his study, he experienced several domestic
competitions. In 1997, he applied the 3rd Hamamatsu International
Piano Competition. 'The reason I tried Hamamatsu was there is
no lower age limite, and many young excellent pianists had applied'.
He won the 1st prize at 20 years old.
"The 1st prize at that competition took me the way to a pianist.
It also gave me the opportunities to play in Japan." Next
year, he came to Japan for the concert tours by the 1st place
prizewinner at Hamamatsu and other 7 places.
In 2000, he was awarded 1st prize at Leeds International Pianoforte
Competition. "After Hamamatsu, I thought to apply the major
international competitions, but I chose Leeds that has history
and the opinion of its own." He concentrated Leeds without
applying any other like International Tchaikovsky Music Competition
or International Chopin Piano Competition.
"For example, at Chopin, contestants can play only Chopin.
Although, at Hamamatsu or Leeds, we can play any music of various
times what we like. In that mean, I can appeal all of myself.
It is attractive point for me."
His repertory is wide from Classic, by Bach and Beethoven etc.,
Romantic, by Chopin and Brahms etc., furthermore to Modern and
Contemporary, by Rakhmaninov and Prokofiev etc. Since now, he
have performed as a soloist with the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra, Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic Orchestra,
Orquesta Synfonica de la Radio-Television Espanola, BBC National
Orchestra of Wales, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London philharmonic
and others, and he has played at Frankfurt Music festival, the
Pablo Casals Festival of Spain, Chopin music festival and others.
Last year, at Japanese recital, he played Bach's 'English Suite',
Brahms 'Variation in a theme of Paganini' and so on. Also, he
appeared with The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and New Japan Philharmonic
Orchestra, and took the Japanese audience with him when he played
Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no.1 and Brahms' Piano Concerto no.1.
"I noticed Japanese audience is interested in a player not
only as an artist but also as a human. This is very important
to promote the art."
"I'm glad to play in Japan that peoples love the classic
music and Italian culture so much. I feel so every time I come
and this feeling must not change." This young pianist who
got a big step at Japanese competition and now plays an active
role in the world stage is already looking forwards to coming
back to Japan for next recital.
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