Italian pianist has long resume

A fifth-prize winner at the Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Competition last year, Alessandro Deljavan is once again back in Salt Lake City. This time, he hopes to take home the gold medal.

At 19, Deljavan just made the cut for the artists edition of the Bachauer competition this year.

Even though he is one of the youngest pianists competing in this year's event, the young Italian has a long history in the grueling world of international competitions. Before participating in the Bachauer last year, he had taken part in competitions in Italy and Slovakia. And in 1996, he won the Concours Musical de France in Paris.

Deljavan has recently completed his musical education at the Milan Conservatory of Music. His studies have also taken him to the Pergolesi Academy of Music in Fermo, Italy, and to the esteemed Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

These past several years have seen Deljavan actively pursuing a solo- and chamber-music career in Europe. He released his first CD at the age of 16 and is currently studying the complete works of Chopin. In the upcoming season, Deljavan will perform J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Variations" and the complete Beethoven piano concertos.

In his essay accompanying his application for the Bachauer competition, Deljavan underscored the universal importance music has not only for performers but also for listeners: "(Classical music) is an invaluable example of pureness that should merit much more attention, most of all when young people use it to express themselves."

If you go

What: Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Round 3

Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South

When: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. and 7-10 p.m.

How much: through Wednesday, $15; Thursday and June 30, $22-$42

Phone: 355-2787 or 888-451-2787

Web: www.arttix.org

Radio broadcast: KBYU (FM-89.1), daily, 3 p.m.

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com