It’s (Classical) Music to L.A.’s Ears

Congratulations to Robert Edward Thies. The 24-year-old Los Angeles resident is the first American to win a major piano contest in Russia since Van Cliburn triumphed at the first International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958. Thies captured the gold medal at the second International Prokofiev Piano Competition held recently in St. Petersburg.

The victory earns kudos for the classical music community of Los Angeles, a city better known for its pop culture and Hollywood tinsel.

Thies, who completed graduate study last May at the USC School of Music, was one of 65 participants in the grueling competition, which ran from Dec. 1 to 13. His instructor, Daniel Pollack, also hails from USC.

Thies gained the highest number of points from an international jury that included Pollack, who excused himself from the voting. The competition was begun in 1991 to honor composer Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953), who was born in St. Petersburg.

Thies started taking piano lessons when he was 5 and living in Thousand Oaks. He went to USC to study with Pollack, a prize winner at the 1958 competition in which Cliburn took the top medal.

For the final round of competition, Thies played the Second Concerto of Prokofiev and George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. As the only contest participant to play a piece composed by an American, he brought distinction to two U.S. musicians. Bravo.