While they were in town for about ten days, our three young finalists gathered for the Grand Finale and charmed an enthusiastic audience that cheered them on and shared their excitement. They were accompanied by the JONC (Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya), an ensemble of musicians aged 19–25 that provides professional orchestral training and offers the public music of the highest quality, under the direction of Manuel Valdivieso.
Interestingly, the program rules required that at least two works by Spanish composers — including a minimum of one by a Catalan composer — be included in the audition repertoire. The commissioned piece, Corpi Liberi, was assigned to Anna Bofill. Other works by Mompou, Blancafort, Carlos Bianchini and J. A. Medina were also featured. In addition, at least one work by a female composer had to be performed during the various rounds.
The jury awarded 28‑year‑old pianist Zhu Wang the First Prize (Fundació Occident Prize); he was praised for his rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2. Junho Cha, who played Prokofiev No. 3 in the final round, received the Second Prize (Maria Font de Carulla Foundation), while Zhiqiao Zhang was granted Third Prize (Vila Casas Foundation) for his performance of Rachmaninoff No. 3. Junho Cha also received the Palau de la Música Prize, and Zhu Wang won both the Audience and Student Jury Awards.
