Photo Wojciech Grzędziński

Jury member

Sergejs Osokins

He graduated with distinction from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and remained there to complete postgraduate studies (doctor of art) in performance and musicology. Since 1988, he has taught piano at the J?zeps V?tols Latvian Academy of Music. For many years now, he has also collaborated with the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen performing music and lecturing at master classes.

Osokins is one of the most significant figures on the Latvian piano music scene. In the pianist?s repertoire one will find masterpieces of various styles and eras, but music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Alexander Scriabin and Alfred Schnittke is closest to his heart. His deep, colourful and sophisticated interpretations always bring pleasure to true gourmets of classical music watching him perform throughout Europe. He has received the Latvian Great Music Award for his performance of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms. In recognition of his overall creative activities, he was awarded the highest ?Three Star? order of the Republic of Latvia in 2016.

Sergejs Osokins is not only an outstanding pianist, but also a talented teacher of some of the most successful young pianists in Latvia ? laureates, prize winners and finalists of famous international piano competitions, such as the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, the Marguerite Long?Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris, the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, the Leeds International Piano Competition, the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw and many others. Andrejs Osokins, Georgijs Osokins, Vestards Šimkus and Aur?lija Šimkus have all been his students.