Pianist Zala Kravos and the LX Export Prize 2018

The 16-year-old Zala Kravos made her debut at 14 and is now becoming an artist of international renown. This December she received further acclaim in Luxembourg, where she was nominated, along with two other musicians, for the music:LX Export Prize 2018 in the category classical and contemporary music.

The Luxembourg Music export office, Music:LX, is a non-profit organization and network, created in 2009 with the aim to develop the music of Luxembourg of all genres around the world as well as to promote professional exchange between Luxembourg and other territories. It is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Sacem Luxembourg. This year's event was marked by a press conference featuring many excellent musicians from Luxembourg and abroad and by the young musical talent from Slovenia. The press conference took place in the presence of the nominees and the new Minister of Culture Ms Sam Tanson.

An award ceremony took place on 18 December, at which Zala's recent performance of Copin's Piano concerto no. 2 (Larghetto) was presented. In 2016 she completed her studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium), under the mentorship of Maria João Pires, who praised her musicality. She continues her studies in Luxembourg, where her first album Début was recorded and released by the German label Ars Produktion. The CD features Zala's interpretation of Brahms's Ballades Op. 10, Chopin's Impromptus and Liszt's Ballade No. 2, as well as a modern work by the Luxembourg-Bulgarian composer Albena Petrovic-Vratchanska. Music critics have defined her playing as fluent, with a pleasant and fine touch, which expresses the poetry of the works beautifully, but never becomes sentimental. The last work, Crystal Dream by Albena Petrovich, is, as she herself says, very close to the pianist. "Albena wrote it for me in 2013 in order to introduce me to a more modern style."