Guanajuato, Gto., November 8, 2019.- Dr. Teresita de Jesús Rendón Huerta Barrera, Rector of the Guanajuato Campus of the University of Guanajuato (UG), presided over the award ceremony of the First National Piano Competition, on this occasion, in tribute to two great pianists: Clara Wieck Schumann and Luz Maria Puente, the latter, one of the most important artists in the country.

In this ceremony and competition, it was privileged to have the presence of the distinguished Mtro. Jorge Federico Osorio, son of the Mtra. Puente, who also served as part of the jury.

In her message, Dr. Rendón Huerta Barrera thanked in a special way, Mtro. Luis Flores Villagómez, Director of the Department of Music and Dr. Francisco Javier González Compeán, Director of the Architecture, Art and Design Division (DAAD), for the support for the realization of this important event, organized by Dr. Adriana Martínez Maldonado.

For his part, Dr. Francisco Javier González Compeán, reported that for this contest came 24 requests from various states, and based on a rigorous arbitration and previous filter made by the jury corps in coordination with the UG, 15 applications were accepted, among which they found "a very promising future for piano interpretation in our country".

He emphasized that competitions of different artistic disciplines are organized because it is important to promote competition, quality in students, quality in the pianistic repertoire and the dissemination of this.

On this occasion, he observed, it was good to determine two obligatory works: one of the Mtro. Carlos Vidaurri, who selflessly composed the work and made it available to all who were interested in the contest and another of the work of Clara Wieck Schumann, figure that increasingly leaves his connoisseurs in amazement; all this framed in homage to the extraordinary educator and pianist Luz María Puente.

He also celebrated the quality of the body of the Qualifying Jury of the First National Piano Competition in Guanajuato: Mtro. Jorge Federico Osorio, Mtra. Elena Camarena and Mtro. Alejandro Barrañón, and thanked Dr. Adriana Martínez Maldonado, Coordinator of the First National Competition, who is a full-time teacher in the Department of Music.

In his message to the public, the Mtro. Jorge Federico Osorio, thanked with great emotion the tribute to his mother, who on November 20 will turn 96 and still teach piano lessons.

It is worth mentioning that, on behalf of Adriana Camarena de Obeso, Director of the State Institute of Culture, was Lic. Alvaro Octavio Lara Huerta, Director of Programming of the Institute.

Winners

The first place was for Oscar Daniel Espíritu Narciso, who received an economic prize of 15 thousand pesos, holding a paid recital with travel expenses in the cycle of "Musical Thursday" of the Quixote Museum in the first season of 2020; a recital paid by the National Coordination of Opera and Music of INBAL in Mexico in 2020 and a concert with the Philharmonic of Querétaro, also in the coming year.

The second place was won by Axel Ortega Cuenca, who had an award of 12 thousand pesos, a recital in the theater "Maria Grever" in León and a package of books of the UG; third place went to Luis Fernando Elizalde Ponce, who won a prize of 10 thousand pesos and a pack of books from the UG; and the award for best interpretation of obligatory Mexican work - "the powder bull" by Carlos Vidaurri - was also for Oscar Daniel Spirit, with an economic award of three thousand pesos.

It is important to mention that this national competition was held from November 4 to 7, sponsored by the Division of Architecture Art and Design (DAAD) through the Department of Music and Performing Arts of the Guanajuato Campus of the University of Guanajuato (UG).

This contest has as its history the First State Piano Competition and the First Regional Piano Competition in Guanajuato, both also held through the DAAD and the Music Department. Also, the Children's Performance Competition, which involved other instruments besides the piano.