Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz has been named as the 2014 winner of the Gilmore Artist Award.
Blechacz graduated from the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in 2007, and has gained international acclaim for his interpretations of Chopin, Debussy and Bach. In 2005 he became the first Polish musician in 30 years to win the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition.
The Gilmore Artist Award, worth USD300,000 (€220,162), is presented every four years to an exceptional internationally renowned pianist.
An anonymous advisory committee appraises those nominated for the award over the four-year period, while the candidates are unaware that they are under consideration. The 2010 Gilmore Artist was American pianist Kirill Gerstein.
