From the outset of the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2 1/2 weeks ago, many have called it the year of the Italians. It is the year of one Italian, at least: Simone Pedroni, from Novara, who took first prize at the awards ceremony at the Tarrant County Convention Center Theater here.
Valery Kuleshov, 30, of Russia, finished second and Christopher Taylor, 23, a Harvard graduate from Boulder, Colo., was third.Pedroni, 24, received a gold medal, a silver cup and a $15,000 cash prize. Along with Kuleshov and Taylor, he will be given concert tours and career management for the next two seasons and a Philips recording. Pedroni also won the Steven de Groote Memorial Chamber Music Award of $1,000 for his performance of the Franck Piano Quintet with the American String Quartet.
Pedroni's concerts are to include a debut recital in Carnegie Hall at a date to be determined. "It will be one of the most beautiful experiences of my life," he said through an interpreter. "One of the first records I ever bought was Horowitz at Carnegie Hall. I never thought I would succeed him there."
Johan Schmidt, 28, of Belgium, took fourth place; Armen Babakhanyan, 25, of Armenia, finished fifth, and another Italian, Fabio Bidini, 24, took sixth. The other major award, a $4,000 discretionary prize, was given to Andrew Armstrong, 19, an American.