The Leeds International Piano Competition has announced the 24 finalists who will take part in this year’s event. They were selected from 68 first round candidates who took part in audituions in Berlin, New York and Singapore. The finals run from 6-15 September.
Commented co-artistic Director and juror Adam Gatehouse: “Selecting just 24 out of the 68 outstanding pianists who played in our first round across three continents was a very difficult task for the international jury, such was the quality of those who shared their extraordinary music-making with us.”
In the finals themselves, the 24 musicians will compete across three further rounds. The winner will pick up a cheque for GBP25,000 (€28,500) and benefit from engagements with orchestras like Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and a management deal with Askonas Holt.
All the finalists are aged 20-29, and represent 16 countries: China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UK and US. A full list of candidates can be found here.
This year marks a major rebranding for The Leeds, with the introduction of the international first round as well as a piano festival (running from 14-23 May) across Leeds and London. It is also the first competition held under the leadership of co-artistic directors Gatehouse and Paul Lewis.
