With the concert of the best young pianists and with the award ceremony, these years Memorial Jurica Murai and Murai Grand Prix ended on Saturday, April 28, 2018. Music School in Varaždin was once again the host and the organizer of this international piano competition. Head of the jury was renowned Croatian pianist and pedagogue Vladimir Krpan and didn’t have an easy job of selecting the best of the best young pianists by each category of the competition and the best in the Grand Prix category. “We have heard very gifted children and young people who are already very well educated and I think that we heard today that they are the bearers of future music events. We as the jury are proud of them and I really do not think we have made a mistake when we picked up the best” prof. Krpan said. The first prize of the Grand Prix and 1500 euros belonged to the young Russian pianist Veri Andrianova. Oleksii Kanke from Ukraine is the winner of the second prize of the Grand Prix, while Eri Nohira from Germany is third. A special reward for best performing from the baroque era was Manami Matsuura from Japan. Special Jurica Murai Memorial prize was given to Szymon Orlinski of Poland, while the Croatian Youth Music Award was given to Sven Brajković. Among the youngest contestants of the memorial was Greta Tesker, and she was awarded with a special sponsorship award by the Euro-Unit, Yamaha and Bösendorfer , and it was Yamaha stage piano P-45.

Music School in Varaždin can once again be very proud and pleased with the event. This year’s memorial gathered nearly 200 young pianists and their mentors from many countries around the globe, USA to Japan, as well as eminent members of the jury with professors of distinguished educational institutions from Croatia and abroad.

City of Varaždin and Music School in Varaždin have been the center of the music world of young pianists, who will continue their education and music path, and judging by the final concert of the best of the best, they all have a splendid future as pianists.