Alexandra Kaptein awarded first prize and public prize at the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians

On 28 October 2016, Alexandra Kaptein, first-year Classical Music piano student, won first prize at the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians 2016. She shares this first prize with Japanese pianist Kanon Wada. Alexandra was also awarded the Audience Prize.

This is the first time since the competition was launched in 2011 that a Dutch contestant has won first prize in the age group of 16- to 19-year olds (age group B).
This year, the competition boasted no fewer than 32 contestants from all corners of the world. Christiaan Kuyvenhoven, former student of the ArtEZ School of Music, won first prize in the age category 10- to 15-year-olds in 2001. Alexandra has been invited to perform in the Mirror Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Sunday morning, 27th November. Her performance will be broadcast live on Dutch radio station Radio 4.

The 'ArtEZ Conservatory Prize', a sum of € 500 put up by the ArtEZ School of Music, was awarded this year to Pavle Krstic of Austria, who also shared second prize in age category B.

The International Piano Competition for Young Musicians is held every two years in Enschede. Artistic director is Michail Markov (www.pianocompetition.com).