B.C. pianist wins 1st prize at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition

A B.C.-born pianist won the Leeds International Piano Competition in the United Kingdom — one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko took home the top prize, along with a cash award of roughly $54,000, following his final performance at St. George’s Hall in Bradford, about 325 kilometres northwest of London, on Saturday.

Izik-Dzurko, who is from Salmon Arm, about 460 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, beat four other finalists with a rendition of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan. 

After being selected by the jury, Izik-Dzurko called his victory an “indescribable honour.”

“I think it will take a while for the moment to sink in,” he said in an interview with competition hosts Petroc Trelawny and Alexandra Dariescu. He also expressed gratitude to his family and mentors for their support.

The Leeds International Piano Competition, co-founded in 1963 by renowned piano teacher Dame Fanny Waterman, is held every three years and is open to pianists under 30 from around the globe.

In addition to the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal and the cash prize, Izik-Dzurko will receive a package that includes engagements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, and recital tours across the U.K. and internationally, as part of the Steinway Prize Winner Concerts Network and Global Music Network.

Izik-Dzurko is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and holds a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia, where he studied under Corey Hamm. He currently studies with Jacob Leuschner at Germany’s Detmold Hochschule für Musik and with Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Just this May, the Canadian pianist won the 2024 Montreal International Music Competition, taking home more than $150,000 in prizes.

In 2022, he claimed first prizes at both the Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the Maria Canals International Music Competition, as well as at the 20th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition.

He was also named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” in 2021.