City honour for tragic child prodigy

Terence Judd was an outstanding pianist who was on the verge of a successful musical career when he died in 1979.

In 1967, at the age of 10, he won a national junior piano competition.

Now he is being honoured by the Leeds International Piano Competition which has named a new orchestra prize The Terence Judd-Halle Award.

Judd was a past pupil of Dame Fanny Waterman, who founded the Leeds competition.

In 1978 Judd was third prize winner in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition.

The 17th Leeds Piano Competition is taking place on August 29 to September 16.

Members of the Halle and their musical director Sir Mark Elder will choose one of the six Leeds finalists to receive the new award which will consist of a £5,000 prize, at least three paid engagements and the possibility of a recording on the Halle label.

More than 270 entries were submitted for the 2012 Competition, from which 80 pianists from over 20 countries have been selected to compete in front of a distinguished international jury, chaired by Dame Fanny Waterman.

She said: “The applications this year have been outstanding, some of the finest talent the audition panel has ever seen and heard. This will be a remarkable year as we will celebrate Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic Games and the 50th anniversary of the world’s greatest International Piano Competition. We hope to continue to help aspiring young pianists at the start of their careers and the prize winners will be offered a number of prestigious national and international engagements.”

The Competition is held every three years and the two finals in Leeds Town Hall are televised by BBC 4 and broadcast by BBC Radio 3.