Bolzano Festival Bozen 2026 - Aristo Sham

Concerts by young talents at the Busoni Festival



As part of the Busoni Festival, the Busoni Piano Competition presents this year's prize-winners' concerts – Yifan Wu, Sandro Nebieridze and Zhonghua Wei – alongside a selection of competitors who have triumphed in international competitions organized in collaboration with the World Federation of International Music Competitions. These concerts bridge the world of auditions and the start of an international career, offering a glimpse into the musical style of today's talented young pianists.



The festival will open with Aristo Sham, winner of the 1st prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2025, one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world and a major international launching pad. Aristo Sham stands out for his stylistic versatility, richness of sound, and clear, coherent interpretative architecture; his programme establishes a deliberate dialogue between original and arrangement, including Ferruccio Busoni's transcriptions of works by Bach, Brahms and Chopin.



At the end of August it will be the turn of Nikola Meeuwsen, winner of the 1st prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (piano category). His programme spans different eras of piano literature: from Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major to Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, Haydn's Variations in F minor, and Beethoven's Sonata No. 23 in F minor, known as the "Appassionata".



Opening concert programme (Aristo Sham):



Johann Sebastian Bach – Ferruccio Busoni – Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004



Johannes Brahms – Ferruccio Busoni – 6 Chorale Preludes, Op. 122



Fryderyk Chopin – Ferruccio Busoni – 10 Variations on a Chopin Prelude, K 213a



Johannes Brahms – Selection from Klavierstücke, Op. 76, 116, 118, 119



Johannes Brahms – Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 1