Ivan Petrenko (17) continues his remarkable rise on the international stage, most recently winning First Prize at the Fujairah International Piano Competition, following a series of major competition successes with a First Prize at the 15th International Volodymyr Krainev Competition for Young Pianists (Kharkiv Meets Zurich) and a Second Prize at the Robert Schumann Competition for Young Pianists, Düsseldorf - where no First Prize was awarded.

Dutch conductor Arjan Tien has been appointed Principal Conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, starting from January 2026. Internationally praised for his refined sense of style, attention to detail, and infectious energy, Tien is regarded as one of the most dynamic conductors of his generation. He will work together with the new CEO, Adriaan Fuchs, who was Director of Festivals and Special Projects at Carnegie Hall.

The First Prize was awarded to Dutch violinist Hawijch Elders (b.1998), who played Paganini’s Concerto no.1 for the final performance at Teatro alla Scala! She receives a €30,000 cash prize, a recording of an album with Universal, plus three years of additional artistic management coordinated by the Fondazione La Società dei Concerti, with engagements in Italy and abroad. She also received the prize for the best performance of the commissioned work, Sonatina V by Fabio Vacchi.

As Peter Wollny reminds us in the liner notes, Bach’s keyboard concertos constitute a group of innovative works of historic importance, marking the true beginning of the very genre of the keyboard concerto. It is natural, therefore, that they have entered the standard repertoire of pianists, some of whom have left us landmark recordings, even though the more recent discography, especially, is on the whole somewhat limited.