Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili is the latest winner of the Terence Judd-Hallé Award.
BBC Radio 3 has selected Gigashvili as the latest winner of the coveted award as part of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. The prize includes exciting concerto and chamber performance opportunities during the Hallé’s 2024-25 Manchester Season, which will be announced on Thursday 2 May.
The prize also features at least one concerto performance with the Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall, a chamber recital with Hallé musicians at Hallé St Peter’s, a solo recital as part of the Manchester Mid-Day Concert Series and a cash prize of £7,000.
Gigashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2000 and studied at the Tbilisi State Conservatory. He has already won major prizes in Spain, Italy, Zurich and Israel and adds the Terence-Judd-Hallé Award as his first UK-based prize. His debut album Meeting My Shadow was released in April 2023 to great critical acclaim.
Gigashvili said of the award: “When you are at the beginning of your musical career, you are so incredibly happy and grateful for support and awards like this. I feel very honoured, it motivates me to continue and makes me happy. I also look forward to playing with the outstanding Hallé Orchestra and getting to know its musicians better. I know about the history and the tragic life of Terence and after receiving this award I became immensely touched with the feeling that he started breathing in me and now I have a duty to fulfil his ideas and dreams.”
David Butcher, Hallé chief executive, added: “We are delighted to announce Giorgi Gigashvili as this year’s recipient of the Terence Judd-Hallé Award, continuing the memory of one of our nation’s most exceptional young pianists and continuing our flourishing partnership with BBC Radio 3. I am very much looking forward to welcoming Giorgi to Manchester and enjoying his Hallé debuts at The Bridgewater Hall and Hallé St Peter’s during the 2024-25 Season.”
Sam Jackson, controller BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “The BBC New Generation Artists scheme turns 25 this year. Since 1999, we have nurtured and promoted over 100 young instrumentalists, singers and ensembles at the start of their international careers, through studio recordings, commissions of new work, broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and performances at venues and festivals all over the country.
Our partnership with the Hallé has been crucial, and we congratulate Giorgi Gigashvili on being the next recipient of the Terence Judd-Hallé Award. The ongoing link between the New Generation Artists scheme and the Hallé will create further opportunities for collaboration with outstanding musicians, providing memorable experiences for audiences both in the concert hall and on BBC Radio 3.”
Terence Judd was a remarkably gifted British pianist who passed away aged 22 as he was about to embark on a historic tour of the Soviet Union. A trust was established in 1982, and for over four decades, the Terence Judd-Hallé award has been presented in his honour. Celebrated pianists such as Sir Stephen Hough, Nikolai Lugansky, Elisabeth Brauss, and last year’s recipient, Tom Borrow, have been notable beneficiaries of the award.
