Inside Look at Vienna's Salon Music Competition, "Pianos&Soul"

The competition will be held later this month and feature three piano finalists

The AMADEUS Festival Vienna is presenting its first International Salon Music Piano Competition “Pianos&Soul,” aimed at highlighting the genre of salon music. The final round will be held on June 28, 2024, and will be streamed here on The Violin Channel.

The three finalists are pianists Edward Leung, Oksana Oposhnian, and Soyeon Chang.

The grand prize winner will receive €5,000, and be appointed as a Bösendorfer-AMADEUS Young Artist, which involves opportunities valued at around €8,000.

We sat down with Dr. Wilson Goh, Patron of the competition, and Mrs. Karen Goh, Director of AMADEUS Festival Vienna to learn more.

What did you learn from presenting the "Violins&Soul" Salon Music Competition last year?

Through the "Violins&Soul" Salon Music Competition last year, we were pleasantly surprised that many lesser-known beautiful Salon Music exists. Young and exciting talents are also able to bring this music in such wonderful ways to the audience.

What drew you to piano salon music?

As we discussed the idea of our Salon Music competition with the people of Bösendorfer Pianos, we all got really excited about an even deeper and wider repertoire of Salon Music written for the piano, not only the evergreen Chopin but also the likes of Alfred Grünfeld, whose works are equally impressive yet less introduced to the wider audience.

Can you tell us briefly about the history of salon music?

Salon Music became popular in the 19th century. It is basically music for social gatherings of small groups performed by renowned musicians for the purpose of entertainment. Many beautiful pieces were written for this purpose. With the gradual diminishing frequency of such gatherings, audiences have become less exposed to the gems of Salon Music, which resulted in so many brilliant pieces by composers, perhaps well known in their days, but largely forgotten today awaiting to be discovered.

 Are you hoping to revive the style?

Yes. Through the AMADEUS Festival Salon Music competitions, we hope to revive and discover the style, not only for musicians to present well-known works but also endeavour to discover hidden and forgotten gems. We also hope to encourage composers to reconsider writing new works in this style, so that the audience can relive and enjoy exciting works in the style of Salon Music.

Who are your favorite composers who composed Salon Music?

There are too many. Old favourites, new discoveries all become our favourites. Chopin, Fanny Hensel, W. Korngold , Kreisler, Sibelius, D’ Ambrosio, Grünfeld, just to name a few.

What are you most looking forward to for this year’s event?

An exciting presentation of Salon Music by a very talented cast of finalists. Presenting such pearls of beauty on our newly acquired Bösendorfer VC280. The audience will also get to vote - with and without curtains - for their favourite pianists in the competition.

What were you looking for in your three finalists? What made them stand out to you?

Virtuosity and mastery of piano music, ingenious selection of repertoire and a personality that communicates the essence of Salon Music with our audience and the jury.

Do you have any advice for your three finalists before June 28?

To bring joy to the audience, you must first indulge in your own enjoyment of presenting your selection of Salon Music.