Panfilov Wins Hastings Competition

RNCM postgraduate Alexander Panfilov has won the 2015 Hastings International Piano Competition.

The Russian virtuoso secured the £10,000 First Prize after impressing judges with a powerful performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No 3, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

He said: ‘Having been to Hastings three times now, I am really familiar with the competition and it’s nice to see it growing and getting better and better every year.

‘It was great to win it this year. The Rach 3 is a very special piece for me to play. It’s definitely one of the most difficult and technically enhanced concertos, but it is also deeply lyrical and philosophical.’

Held at the White Rock Theatre between 28 February and 7 March, the prestigious competition forms part of the Hastings Music Festival and dates back over 100 years. Alexander, who studies with Graham Scott and is supported by Liberty Living, a Leverhulme Arts Scholarship and the Helen Mackaness Award, also won the £500 Audience Prize, the HIPCC Trophy in memory of Sir Philip Ledger CBE, and a concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

He added: ‘I was so happy to win but was especially delighted about winning the Audience Prize, which gives an incredible feeling of being appreciated by the public as well as a professional jury.’

12 March 2015