THE SCOOP | Felix Hong Wins Québec’s 2017 Prix d’Europe

Jennifer Liu

7 years ago

Winners of the four categories at the Prix d’Europe: Hugo Laporte (voice), Antoine Malette-Chénier (strings), Felix Hong (keyboards), Stephanie Morin (winds/percussion) (Photo: Jennifer Liu)

MONTREAL – The jury of the 2017 Prix d’Europe Competition has chosen pianist Felix Hong as this year’s winner. As part of the grand prize, Hong receives $25,000 plus performance engagements – a recital at the Bon Pasteur Historic Chapel, as well as a concerto performance with the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra. In total, over $44,000 in prizes was awarded to some of Quebec’s top classical music talents yesterday evening.

In a statement to Musical Toronto, Hong wrote: “It’s my greatest honour to be awarded the Prix d’Europe 2017, not only is it a great experience overall, but I got to play in beautiful halls and pianos and Chapelle Bon-Pasteur and Salle Bourgie.” For the pianist who will pursue a Master’s degree at the Guildhall School in September, “Prix d’Europe has made my dream come true.”

Since its inception in 1911, the Competition has provided scholarships to young musicians on a yearly basis, except in 1971. Should a musician win the $25,000 grand prize, the amount is intended to help finance their music studies beyond Quebec, notably in Europe.

Other winners are:

Second Prize ($5,000): Antoine Malette-Chénier (harp);

Third Prize ($3,000): Hugo Laporte (baritone);

Fourth Prize ($2,500): Stephanie Morin (flute)

Fernand Lindsay Composition Prize ($10,000; biennial): Charles-Antoine Fréchette

John Newmark Prize ($4,000) for exceptional musicality: Antoine Malette-Chénier (harp)

Béatrice Kennedy Bourbeau Prize ($2,000) awarded to an instrumentalist for best performance of a work, across all musical periods: Noémie Raymond-Friset (cello) and Elizabeth Skinner (violin) ($1,000 each)

Jean-Paul Sevilla Prize ($2,000) for a piano performance of a piece from a predetermined list: Félix Marquis and Thierry Montpetit ($1,000 each)

Claire Charbonneau Clerk Prize ($1,000) for an exceptional singer or pianist: Pierre-André Doucet (piano)

Monik Grenier Prize ($1,000) for best piano performance of a Québécois work: Félix Marquis

Lied and Mélodie Prize ($1,000) for best performance of a complete set of mélodies, lieder or art songs: Hugo Laporte (baritone)

Guy Soucie Prize ($1,000) for best performance of a Québécois work: David Therrien-Brongo (percussion)

Canadian Music Centre (Quebec chapter) Prize ($500) for best performance of a Canadian work: Gabriel Trottier (horn)

Over its 106 editions, laureates of the Prix d’Europe include Jacques Hétu, Bruno Laplante, Karen Quinton, Jean Saulnier, Pascale Giguère, Stéphan Sylvestre, Wonny Song, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Xiaoyu Liu. Samuel Dharmoo is a winner of the Composition category, in place since 2009.

For more CLASSICAL MUSIC NEWS, visit HERE.

Jennifer Liu

Jennifer holds a master's degree in piano performance and is pursuing her degree in journalism at Carleton University. Previously, she lived for classical music in Toronto and Montreal.