Busoni contest is won b y a Russian

Busoni Mahler Foundation, Bolzano Italy says:

Arsenii Mun was born in St. Petersburg, is currently studying with Sergei Babayan at Juilliard School in New York and resides also in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Being a representative of the Busoni Mahler Foundation I would like to emphasize that our communication concerning the candidates has at no point included any indication of nationality of the participants: As a committed member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), the Busoni Competition would like to emphasize the artistic direction’s belief that young musicians are taking part in competitions as individuals and not as representatives of any nation. An artistic career in the realm of classical music transcends nationality as musicians tend to perceive themselves as citizens of the world, living in many different places. We have therefore indicated crucial places in a musician’s biography, such as place of birth, education and residence instead of putting unnecessary emphasis on the somewhat irrelevant fact of the nationality of our finalists and jury members. The Busoni-Mahler Foundation detaches itself from all political ideology, condemns the instrumentation of the arts and artists by any political regime, and instead is abstaining from all indications of nationality or nationalist symbolism.