Pianist Jonathan Wilson tells Limelight what the Award, from the Accompanist’s Guild of South Australia, means for him.

Pianist Jonathan Wilson has won the 2017 Geoffrey Parsons Award, worth $6,000. Presented by the Accompanists’ Guild of South Australia, the Award is thought to be Australia’s longest and most significant prize celebrating the art of collaborative piano performance. The Guild itself was founded to acknowledge and elevate the importance of the accompanist in classical music.

In announcing  Wilson as this year’s winner, Chairman of the jury and Head of Piano and Chamber Music at the Australian National Academy of Music Timothy Young emphasised “the professionalism and high standard of performances” of the finalists. Wilson’s fellow finalists were David Jenkin from Brisbane and Thomas Saunders from South Australia.

Wilson came out on top with a programme of Beethoven, Brahms, Duparc, Granados and de Falla. Speaking to Limelight, he said: “I chose my programme to display a variety of styles and versatility with working with different musicians. I worked with Adelaide violinist Lachlan Bramble on the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op 30 No 2, and Sydney-based singer Michael Butchard on French and Spanish songs. All three finalists in the competition had...