Piano STAR - The program of excellence for young pianists in the pre-university segment organized on Saturday, January 22nd, 2022, the Piano STAR Festival, a marathon of repertoires studied throughout the project, after 4 modules of technical and interpretive improvement, supported by piano teachers from major academies music in Europe.

The festival mastered the young pianists who competed for the series of recitals, concerts, invitations to international competitions and study visits offered by members of the jury and other partner institutions in the project (Purcell School, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Pianale International Academy & Competition, Robert Schumann International Competition, Brașov Philharmonic, SONORO, Goethe-Institut Bucharest, Swiss Embassy in Romania, ARCUB, Liszt Institute Bucharest, Romanian Athenaeum and ARTUAL Association).

The program is attended by 10 young and very young pianists from all over the country, selected by an international jury based on fragments of interpretation and a letter of recommendation from the tutors. The 10 young people are: Andra Băcilă (18 years old), Petru Burcea (15 years old), Irisa Filip (14 years old), Matei Cristian Lăbunț (17 years old), Mario-Victor Lucaci (15 years old), Leonid Lupașcu (14 years old), Teodora-Ioana Mincu (15 years old), Darius Emanuel Moț (12 years old), Ștefan Rus (14 years old) and Daria Andreea Vasile (14 years old).

The international jury, which included: Răzvan Popovici (Director, SONORO Festival), Dr. Joachim Umlauf (Director, Goethe Institut Bucharest), Dragoș Dimitriu (Director, Brașov Philharmonic), E.S. Mr. Arthur Mattli (Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Romania), Kira Frolu (pianist, President of the ARTUAL Association) and the teachers who gave the piano masterclasses: William Fong (Royal Academy of Music in London and Purcell School - Special School of Music for talented children), Uta Weyand (Pianale International Academy & Competition), Barbara Szczepanska (Robert Schumann Hochschule) and Aaron Shorr (Scottish Royal Conservatory) named the winners of the STAR Piano at the end of the Festival recitals.

The awards for the most appreciated pianists and pianists were given at the STAR Piano Gala, which took place on Sunday, January 23rd, in the Great Hall of Arcub, as follows:

- PianoSTAR Award: Matei Lăbunț

- LISZT Award: Andra Bacilă, Daria Vasile, Mario Lucaci

- SPECIAL Award for ROMANIAN MUSIC: Irisa Filip

- ROBERT SCHUMANN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Award: Matei Lăbunț, Andra Bacilă, Daria Vasile, Leonid Lupașcu

- PIANALE ACADEMY & COMPETITION Award: Leonid Lupașcu

- SONORO Award: Matei Lăbunț and Daria Vasile

PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT:

I. COLLECTIVE RECITAL CATEGORY:

ARCUB: Andra Bacilă, Mario Lucaci, Irisa Filip, Teodora Mincu

LISZT Institute Bucharest: Irisa Filip and Ștefan Rus, Petru Burcea, Teodora Mincu

Goethe-Institut Bucharest: Matei Lăbunț, Leonid Lupascu, Ștefan Rus and Teodora Mincu

Swiss Embassy in Romania / Ambassador's Residence: Matei Lăbunț Andra Bacilă and Daria Vasile

II. INDIVIDUAL RECITAL CATEGORY:

- Tuesday evening season (Small Hall) of the Romanian Athenaeum: Mario Lucaci

- Brașov Philharmonic - Andra Bacilă

- Brașov Philharmonic - Daria Vasile

III. CAMERA CONCERT CATEGORY

Brașov Philharmonic - Gaudeamus Quartet: Andra Bacilă

IV. CONCERT CATEGORY WITH ORCHESTRA

Brașov Philharmonic - Matei Lăbunț

V. CATEGORY OF STUDY VISITS

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Daria Vasile and Mario Lucaci

Purcell School: Daria Vasile and Teodora Mincu

"They all benefited from the direct experience of training and interacting with some of the most important piano teachers in Europe, as well as the recitals in the concert hall. I was impressed by the difficult repertoires approached and the way they prepared. and the young pianists performed at the Festival "- says Kira Frolu, pianist, president of the Artual Association.

"The Piano Star Festival was probably the most difficult and intense test of the project, in many ways, a marathon that tested the limits of young pianists in real conditions of artistic life. There was no boring moment, everything passed very quickly. it was great to see how they incorporated and understood all the ideas from the classes and processed them in the festival under the pressure of the event, but also under the emphasis of their personality, already defined with the guiding teachers. All our pianists are very talented, intelligent, passionate and this is what we felt with every hour of preparation and recital. Their participation, their commitment as artists in the Piano STAR season took into account not only these qualities, but also the ability shown in the Festival, of endurance, power to shine and conquer the audience "- said William FONG, Music Director of the project, professor at The Royal Academy of Music and head of the piano department at Purcell School in London, the special school of music for talented children.

The Piano STAR program of excellence offered a series of cultural experiences of classical music to both participants and specialized audiences (teachers, musicians, etc.) and the general public :

- Masterclasses in piano performance under the guidance of internationally renowned professors from the Royal Academy of Music in London, Purcell School, Pianale International Academy & Competition, Robert Schumann Conservatory, Royal Scottish Conservatory.

- Collective classes - techniques for organizing the study, listening to and analyzing music, building repertoire, collaborative music development. The guiding teachers of the participants were also part of the internship exchange program with the project team.

- Piano recitals and Lunch Concerts by Piano Star pianists

- Cultural dialogues. They brought the project partners and teachers for discussions on the links between art education and the cultural scene from the Romanian, German and British perspective.

- Communication workshops. To improve their ability to present themselves to the public both on stage and in online environments and to acquire practical notions of organizing cultural events.

The activities took place at the Multicultural Center of Transilvania University in Brașov, Tudor Ciortea Brașov Music High School, Goethe Institute Bucharest, Liszt Institute Bucharest, ARCUB Bucharest, Brașov Philharmonic, Romanian Youth Art Center, Dinu Lipatti National College of Arts in Bucharest.

"We wanted, through this initiative accelerator of artists or marathon of artistic development, not only to outline a path for the artistic manifestation of the musical educational act - but to explore and answer questions such as: What role can music culture play and the performance of a pianist in his future career? Are there practical methods for shaping a successful future? etc. " - says Kira Frolu, pianist, president of the Artual Association.

The Piano STAR project is organized by the Artual Association, in collaboration with DC Communication, with the support of the Capital City Hall through ARCUB, IPP - Instore Power Provider and Aqua Carpatica.

Partners: Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center, Goethe-Institut Bucharest, French Institute, Swiss Embassy in Romania, Multicultural Center of Transilvania University Brasov, Brasov Philharmonic, Romanian Youth National Art Center, Radio Romania Musical, The Purcell School London, National College of Arts Dinu Lipatti Bucharest and Tudor Ciortea High School of Music in Brașov.