Email of the writer: z2234538@163.com

THE fourth China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Music Week will be held from Sunday until June 23 at Shenzhen Concert Hall, providing the city with a world-class musical event consisting of 10 master classes and 14 concerts.

Forty-five outstanding young performers from 21 countries and regions, selected from 127 applicants, will give performances.

Most of the performers are from prestigious music institutes, such as the Royal College of Music, the French Conservatory of Music, and the Juilliard School. “Compared with the previous event, not only did this one set a new record for the highest number of applicants, but also for a higher level of piano performers,” Dan Zhaoyi, the art director of the music week, said at a press conference Thursday. Dan is also a professor at Shenzhen Art School.

Formerly known as China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition (CSIPCC), one of China’s three world-class piano contests, the concerto is the highest-profile international art competition since the establishment of Shenzhen. In 2015, CSIPCC was officially added as a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), which is an organization of UNESCO’s music council.

The form of the expertise committee also reflects the organizers’ goal of creating a professional, authoritative, internationalized and diverse art event. Apart from reputable music professors from China’s Central Conservatory of Music, 12 famous pianists will serve as experts to give remarks.

Among them are Polish pianist, Andrzej Jasnski, who was the former chairman of the organizing committee of the Chopin International Piano Competition, and Leonel Morales, who has been recognized as one of the best performers of Beethoven’s works.

“The participation of these excellent young pianists not only allows the Shenzhen audience to experience first-class performances, but also enhances the citizens’ ability to appreciate art,” Dan said.

To tell China’s great tale and spread China’s amazing voice, the event’s organizers added special concerto works by Chinese composers to the performers’ alternative track list. This is also a superb opportunity to let pianists from around the world enjoy China’s outstanding concertos.

With the aim of lessening citizens’ sense of distance from high art, the organizing committee hand-picked 38 families from 57 applications for the volunteer family scheme. These families will act as hosts for the foreign performers. Some families were selected for the second or even third time.

The Shi Lei family from Bao’an, is a representative of families that have been selected for the third time.

“Six years ago, I applied with great hope and wanted to encourage my son to learn to play the piano by giving him an opportunity to make friends with a superb pianist,” Shi said. “We have taken in performers twice, so my kid got a chance to be in a fabulous art environment and embrace the friendships he made.”