Among the winners of the 2021 American Protégé International Piano and String Competition is a Hungarian name - Leila Ditta Hargitai was the category winner with Ravel's Jeux d'eau and the first movement of Schumann's Sonata in G minor (Op. 22). As a reward for her achievement, Ms Hargitai will perform at the winners' recital at Carnegie Hall on May 15, 2022.
American Protégé is designed for young musicians, actors and singers on the path to a successful career. A large number of talented musicians applied for the 2021 Piano and Strings Competition. They hailed from 15 countries, including different parts of the U.S., Australia, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam and of course, Hungary.
"I am excited about the receptions from foreign and Hungarian audiences alike, and I am preparing for this with special professional attention and discipline. I wish that the magic of the music would also captivate the audience through me, the performer."- said the 18-year-old pianist, a student at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest.
Tickets for the American Protégé winners concert are now on sale at the Carnegie Hall website.
Leila Ditta Hargitai was born in 2003 in the Netherlands, and lives and studies in Hungary. She has studied music since she was 4 when she decided to go for a music career. Currently, she is a student of András Kemenes at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Leila won first prize in various piano competitions like the International Béla Bartók Piano Competition, the National Piano Competition, Music Bridge International Youth Instrumental Competition, and was awarded for the best Chopin performance. As a multiple music-talent, she won first prize in the Zoltán Kodály Solfeggio and Singing Competition with a special award in Singing. At the age of 15, she played Chopin’s four ballades at her own concert. She has performed at the Budapest Opera Theater and had a concert with Budapest Strings Orchestra. She is a scholar of the National Talent Program Hungary.