2022 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition winner returns for concert

Shunta Morimoto won the title, £15,000 and the Molly Townson Memorial Trophy after giving a thrilling performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor Op 54 accompanied by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in March during the 16th Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition at the White Rock Theatre.

Managing director Ian Roberts “We are thrilled that our current winner of the 2022 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition Shunto Morimoto will be returning to Hasting to perform in our summer picnic concert at Fairlight Hall.

“Shunto is an exciting and hugely talented young artist and is fast making a name for himself on the concert platform and this concert is an opportunity for our audiences to hear him perform again, months after his spectacular performance led to him being awarded first prize.

“Join us in the beautiful surroundings of Fairlight Hall, bring a picnic or join us for a Patrons lunch and an afternoon tea and help us raise money for our charity. Gardens will be open from 12 midday. Performance starts at 2.30pm.”

His programme will be:

Schubert – Sonata No 14 D 784; Faure – Nocturne No 6 Op 63; Chopin – Polonaise Fantasie Op 61; Debussy – Images Book 2; 1. Cloches à travers les feuilles, 2. Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut, 3. Poissons d’or; Schumann – Symphonic Etüde Op. 13. Tickets: £25 general admission (plus a booking fee), includes access to the gardens; £75 for a pre-concert patrons lunch with wine, concert ticket and afternoon tea

Email [email protected] to book.

Free tickets for under18s. Under 16s must be accompanied by a full paying adult.

Shunta Morimoto was born in Kyoto, Japan in December 2004.

From an early age he showed great talent for the piano.

At the age of 12, in 2017, he won the first prize and the Fukuda Scholarship Award by the Piano Teachers Association of Japan, one of the most important prizes for a young musician. He took part in the Van Cliburn Junior competition in Dallas, Texas at age 14 in May 2019 with exceptional public success.

In 2022 Shunta won the 16th Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition and had his debut performance on BBC Radio 3.

His performances have gone viral on the Internet and have earned him a large following of fans, critics, musicians all over the world. Since then he has performed in concert with leading musicians and symphony orchestra in Japan and abroad.

In September 2020, he won the second prize in the Piano Teachers Association of Japan competition, one of the most important competitions in Japan.

Following this victory he played Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.