Georgian pianist wins competition in Barcelona

Georgian pianist Sandro Gegechkori won the 66th International Music Competition Maria Canals in the Catalan city of Barcelona on Wednesday, crowning his successful performances at the event that also saw the young performer use the limelight for a wider cause earlier in the week.

Gegechkori was presented with the First Prize of the contest by the jury team chaired by Carlos Cebro and involving Alexander Moutouzkine, Ewa Osinska, Mladen Tcholitch, Ramon Coll, Alba Venture and Uta Weyand.

The prize, handed out by Fundación Jesús Serra, also comes with a money prize of €25,000. Ziming Ren of China ended up with the Second Prize of the competition, with Portugal's Rafael Kyrychenko taking the third place award.

Beside the award from the juries, Gegechkori was also the musical artist chosen for the audience prize in Barcelona, revealed as a result of online voting, after his performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Performing with Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, led by conductor Jordi Francés, the three contestants were hosted for the grand final at the Concert Hall of the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Agenda.ge reported.