Iranian musician Arash Rokni has won the second prize in the piano section of the 2018 Johann Sebastian Bach competition, held between July 11 and 21 in Leipzig, Germany.
Mr. Rokni attended the School Of Performing Arts in Iran. Later, while living in Armenia, he was awarded a music scholarship to pursue his piano studies in Leipzig. He currently lives in Germany.
Rokni received the first prize at the Gyumri Renaissance Music Contest in Armenia, and was among the top winners at the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark in 2013.
A total of 105 instrumentalists from 34 countries competed in three categories in this year’s Bach competition in Leipzig. Below is the list of winners in their respective disciplines:
Piano:
1st Prize: Rachel Naomi Kudo / 31 / USA
2nd Prize: Arash Rokni / 25 / Iran
3rd Prize: Jonathan Ferrucci / 24 / Australia-Italy
Harpsichord
1st Prize: Avinoam Shalev / 29 / Israel
2nd Prize: Andrew Rosenblum / 32 / USA
3rd Prize: Anastasia Antonova / 28 / Russia
Violin/Baroque violin
1st Prize: Maria Woszczowska / 26 / violin / Poland
2nd Prize: Maia Cabeza / 25 / violin / USA/Canada
3rd Prize: Hed Yaron Meyerson / 28 / Baroque violin / Germany-Israel
[Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi]