On 7 October 2013 the 10th annual presentation concert of the Musical Olympus International Festival took place in Zurich. Young winners of prestigious global musical contests Yi-Ping Yang (Taiwan – France, percussion), Elena Tokar (soprano, Ukraine), and Elmar Gasanov (Russia, piano) performed on the stage of Tonhalle concert hall and were received with tumultuous applause of the sophisticated Swiss audience.
The listeners highly appreciated the emotional and artistic performance of percussionist Yi-Ping Yang (Taiwan - France, 1 prize, TROMP International Music Competition, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 2008). Yi-Ping Yang presented to the audience the works by C. Hodkinson and M. Honderdos, as well as her own piece for five timpani and vocal, devoted to her motherland. The audience was also not left unfazed with a refined and sensuous performance of Russian pianist Elmar Gasanov (3 prize, Géza Anda international piano competition, Zurich, Switzerland, 2012), who played the musical pieces by J. Brahms and S. Rachmaninov. And Elena Tokar (soprano, Ukraine, 1 prize, the ARD International Music Competition, Munich, Germany, 2012) inspired the audience with a profound interpretation of G. Verdi, W. Mozart, R. Schumann, P. Tchaikovsky, and S. Rachmaninov to the accompaniment of the Ukrainian pianist Igor Grishin.
“Rave reviews of the concert prove that Foundation’s efforts to support young talented musicians worldwide are much called for”, says Irina Nikitina, President of the Musical Olympus Foundation. “The listeners find out about the upcoming concerts of the Foundation and how to visit the Festival in St Petersburg. Therefore, there is no doubt that the tradition to organize presentation concerts of the Festival in Zurich will have a future”.
Starting with 2004, the Musical Olympus Foundation presented to the Swiss audience more than 30 musicians from 15 countries. Traditionally, the Foundation’s concerts in Zurich are organized with the support of Friends Association of the Musical Olympus International Festival in Switzerland. The main goal of the Festival’s concerts abroad is supporting young talented musicians in the beginning of their career path. Only the best participants of the Festival in St Petersburg get the opportunity to perform at the Foundation’s concerts in New York, Berlin, Zurich, Singapore, Baku, and other major musical centers of the world.