Ugnius Pauliukonis Is RNCM Gold Medal Winner
Pianist Ugnius Pauliukonis was the only student to be awarded the prestigious RNCM Gold Medal during the 2013 competition.
The three day event, held at the RNCM Concert Hall between Friday 14 June and Sunday 16 June, featured 11 of the College’s finest students (three of whom performed works written by RNCM student composers) and was judged by adjudicators Professor Linda Merrick RNCM Principal, journalist and music critic Edward Seckerson, and Gavin Reid, Director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Ugnius, pictured above, third left, is currently in his third year at the RNCM. He performed Domenico Scarlatti’s Piano Sonatas in E major K 213 and in E major K 380, Franz Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A minor D 784, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Moments Musicaux Op 16 Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4, and Alexander Scriabin’s Sonata No 4 in F sharp Major Op 30.
On winning, he said: ‘I am really pleased to be the winner of this prestigious award. This was an amazing opportunity to show my personality and to share the music I like to perform the most. I would like to say thank you to all the friends and family who supported me, and to my piano teacher Graham Scott for helping me to achieve such a big success.’
Edward added: ‘The Gold Medal Weekend was a most stimulating and satisfying experience for me. I was honestly in awe of the talent on display – the individuality and diversity of it was so gratifying. What really struck home was the imagination students put into their programming, sometimes over-zealously but with an audacity and imagination that will one day serve them well. Of course, this is work in progress for most of these students but when an artist like Ugnius Pauliukonis steps up to the piano and the magic descends within moments of him starting to play you realise that for the select chosen few progress can be pretty meteoric. He is an astonishing talent and a clear winner and had I happened upon his recital in the course of my professional week I would be asking where he had been all my life. Stardom beckons.’
The other soloists in this year’s competition were: Jing Ouyang (piano), Svetlana Mochalova (cello), Alastair Penman (saxophone), Shao-Chieh Wu (piano), Elfair Dyer (harp), Caroline Pether (violin), Suyzanna Kaszó (piano), Jennifery Dyson (flute), Yasmin Rowe (piano) and Adam Szabo (cello).
16 June 2013
