Egyptian violinist Mariam Abu Zahra, 13, has won the silver award at the Nutcracker International Television Contest for Young Musicians in Moscow, Russia. Mariam, the granddaughter of famous Egyptian actor Abdel Rahman Abu Zahra, participated in the third and final round of the Nutcracker, a renowned contest organised by the state cultural TV channel 'Russia-K', whose most recent edition took place in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Hall. The young violinist was accompanied by the Moscow Philarmonic orchestra under the baton of Michael Shekhtman. Abu Zahra competed with two other young finalists Franz Ludwig Serafin Kraggerud from Norway and violinist Sofia Demetriades, representing the UK, in the string instruments category. She played Carmen Fantasie for solo violin by the Hungarian composer Jenő Hubay, based on the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. Her performance was described as emotionally rich and technically flawless during the competition. The first round of the competition, which aired in November, Abu zahra presented Ayesha's Dance and Sabre Dance from the ballet Gayane by Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978). For the second round, she chose a challenging piece, Valse-Scherzo by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Mariam was born to a Hungarian mother, Nóra Emödy, and an Egyptian father, Ahmed Abu zahra, who both were pianists. She started playing violin at the age of three, following her elder sister Amira. Both sisters have been performing extensively and winning in international contests, such as the German youth national competition, the Virtuózok Talent show in Hungary and many others. In 2020, the sisters received the highest awards at one of the most prestigious competitions for young violinists, the International Arthur Grumiaux Competition in Belgium. The two sisters are also among the few young talents who are offered support by the Young Virtuosos Foundation. Mariam Abu zahra is currently studying in the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under the guidance of violin professor Dora Schwarzberg. The Nutcracker competition has been held annually since 2000, and thousands of children between the ages of 8 and 14 apply for it. These children usually excel in playing musical instruments in their country in three disciplines: stringed instruments, woodwinds and the piano.
