As a glimpse into the work of developing young musicians, the Dresden Conservatory is presenting concerts with recent prize winners. At the start of the concert, Rector Ekkehard Klemm presented “German Fellowships” to Christians Gaensler and Richard Roebel, financial encouragement from the Dresden “Talent Smiths.” That’s how serious students receive help along the way toward winning significant competitions

Ilya Poletaev, a pianist with extraordinary subtle understanding of sound, appeared with the Conservatory Orchestra under John Holloway. Poletaev, winner of the 2010 Bach Competition in Leipzig used his intimate, chamber music approach to Mozart’s Coronation Concerto to emphasize his poetic passage work and clear accents. This rare quality enabled him to reveal a variation in tone colors that was magical. That way, he could match John Holloway’s clearly delineated orchestral support in every detail. The pianist’s playing was dream-like in the Larghetto movement. It showed his feeling for the beauty and elegance of Mozart. This was playing that surpassed the usual spectacular and excessive assault on the music.