The final of the Lucien & Maura Teissier Award for Pianists took place on Wednesday, 10 April, in the Whyte Recital Hall of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Four finalists, Ella Nagy, Defne Gultoprak, Pawel Waleski and Sulamita Pyvovar competed for one of Ireland's most substantial music awards. The jury for the evening consisted of Ján Cap, Finghin Collins, Judith Woodworth and Diāna Zandberga. Together, all four were tasked with the difficult decision of deciding the winner of the Lucien & Maura Tessier Award for Pianists 2024.
Defne Gultoprak was announced as the winner of the Lucien and Maura Teissier Bursary Award of €10,000 and also took home the Fidelio Cup and prize of €300. Defne performed Beethoven's Allegro con brio from Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 and Ravel's Le Gibet and Scarbo from Gaspard de la nuit. Massive thanks to our esteemed jury, everyone who made it to the competition and all the competitors.
Defne Gultoprak has performed in celebrated venues such as the National Concert Hall, Tullynally Castle, Bellapais Abbey (Cyprus) and the National Theatre in Warsaw. Some of Defne’s recent accolades include RIAM PianoFest- Audrey Chisholm Sonata Cup first prize (2024), Margaret O’Hea Recital Cup first prize (2023), Concorso Pianistico Europeo Premio Speciale, first prize (2021), winner of the inaugural 2018 RIAM Ursula Uí Chuinneagáin Bursary and Istanbul Pera International Piano Competition receiving first prize (2017). In 2024, Defne was selected to be one the five participants of the DIPC Young Pianists Programme.