00:00Good afternoon. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely to
00:06speak to Vanessa Latash, who is the Artistic Director of Hastings International Piano.
00:12And you have the Gala Concert coming up at Hastings White Rock Theatre, Saturday, September
00:17the 27th. And this is such an important concert. You're bringing together last year's first
00:23and second winners, aren't you?
00:26We are indeed. Thank you very much, Phil. We're bringing together
00:29Curtis Phil Hewitt and Harmony Jew, our first and second prize winners from Hastings International
00:35Piano Competition, to play with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which is a wonderful event for
00:41them, as well as for obviously for audiences. A fantastic experience for our young winners.
00:47And they will be playing respectively Chopin Concerto and Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto.
00:52Of course, Rachmaninoff being a very, very famous piece of music and very accessible
00:59I think to listen to.
01:01So a year on from the competition, what were your reflections on why these two won? What
01:06made them so special, would you say, that they stood out and that they're back this year?
01:12Well, they're both, as those people who went to the competition will remember, they're both
01:17tremendous characters. They both have personalities on stage. They both really light up the stage when
01:23they walk on in different ways. Curtis is a real lion of the keyboard and he's a tremendous technician,
01:33wonderful musician, very thoughtful, but a very exciting young performer. And Harmony is very lively,
01:42a very neat player, very exciting as well, but very different personalities.
01:49Personality is crucial to performance, isn't it? And crucial too, to the audience's enjoyment, isn't it?
01:55Of course, the communication is key here. If they don't communicate with the audience,
02:01then they won't communicate with a jury. Therefore, they wouldn't get a prize. But these two had very strong
02:06personalities when they played. And also the communication with the orchestra, which is really
02:11important, this collaboration. And that's why doing this wonderful concert, again, you know,
02:16second time that they all have played with the RPO, because of course, they played with them
02:20in the finals of the competition as well. So this second opportunity to play with them and collaborate
02:26with them again, it's fantastic for them. And it's also fantastic for us.
02:30And they will have such an important conversation the day before the concert, as you were saying,
02:35when they meet with the conductor and effectively tell the conductor what they're looking for in the RPO.
02:40That's quite something, isn't it?
02:42Yes, indeed. Scott Dunn, our marvellous conductor who's coming over from the States, who's going
02:49to conduct the concert. He's also a former jury member. He's coming back to sit on the jury again
02:54in 2026. And he will be talking with Curtis and Harmony on the Friday afternoon, working through
03:01with the piano, sitting down, going through how they play it, seeing where they take time around
03:06corners, seeing what they need from the orchestra, where they need a little bit more from the
03:10orchestra, where they need a little bit less, what they particularly do, and how he can then
03:15blend with them. So that's a very important relationship. Conductor-performer relationships
03:22is crucial for the success of the whole event.
03:26Absolutely. It sounds so appealing, the whole thing. And it's part of the cycle, isn't it?
03:31Part of the two-year cycle. You are already thinking about next year. Applications are open,
03:37running until, did you say, the end of September?
03:39That's right, yes. Our deadline is the end of September. And then, well, after that, that's for
03:44video and applications. And then we look at the videos by the middle of October. And then
03:50we have the results out just before Christmas. And then we go on from there.
03:56And your reward is to do it all again?
03:57Yes, that's right. And it'll be very exciting. I'm sure it will be. It always is. And looking
04:05for young talent is so exciting and so rewarding.
04:08Absolutely. That's where it moves on, isn't it? Well, congratulations on all the successes
04:13of the competition and all the successes of all that the organisation does.
04:18A fabulous concert with your first and second position winners. Hastings White Rock Theatre,
04:24Saturday, September the 27th. Hastings International Piano Gala Concert. Lovely to speak to you again,
04:30Vanessa. Thank you.
04:31Thank you, Phil. Thank you so much.
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