The winner of the 19th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition is Eric Lu, representing the USA. The best and only Pole in the final came in 5th place. Just ahead of him was Tianyao Lyu, who, by jury decision, shared the position with Shiori Kuwahara from Japan.In the final, which featured eleven pianists, Tianyao Lyu performed the Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61. Many considered her to be the favourite after that, but also over the whole competition. Fingers were probably particularly firmly crossed by the people of Poznań, as she is a student at the local Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music. She is studying under the guidance of Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń (in 2015 and 2021, she was the chair of the jury, and during this year's competition, she was a member of it). Her students have won major prizes at international and national piano competitions. One of them was Rafał Blechacz, the winner of the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005.

Despite her young age (she turned 17 on the day the competition results were announced), Tianyao Lyu is the winner of many national and international piano competitions, including First Prize at the 19th Ettlingen International Piano Competition (2024), First Prize and Grand Prix at the 31st International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia (2024). She has performed with orchestras such as the Salzburg Chamber Soloists and the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra. She has given concerts in prestigious halls in Asia, Europe and the United States, including Carnegie Hall and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Award-winning pianists

The 19th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition ran from 2 October. It was attended by 84 musicians from 19 countries. In the final, spread over three days, 11 played. The judges assessed each pianist's performance (identical to the previous stages) according to a point scale (awarding 1 to 25 points). A pianist's final competition grade consisted of the sum of 10% of the grade from Stage 1, 20% of the grade from Stage 2 and 35% each of the grade from Stage 3 and the final.

The winners of the first three places were honoured with medals. All finalists received financial prizes - the winner EUR 60,000. 2nd place - EUR 40,000, and 3rd - EUR 35,000. Tianyao Lyu was awarded €30,000 for her 4th place. There will also be special prizes (for the best performance of the concerto, mazurkas, polonaise and sonata), non-statutory prizes and invitations to a series of concerts as part of a world tour. For the first time, a special prize was awarded for the best performance of a ballad.

The 17-member jury, chaired by Garrick Ohlsson, awarded the following prizes.

Grand prizes:

I - Eric Lu (USA)

II - Kevin Chen (Canada)

III - Zitong Wang (China)

IV - Tianyao Lyu (China); Shiori Kuwahara (Japan)

V - Piotr Alexewicz (Poland); Vincent Ong (Malaysia)

VI - William Yang (USA)

Special awards:

Polish Radio Award for the best performance of mazurkas - Jehuda Prokopowicz (Poland)

National Philharmonic Orchestra Award for the best performance of a concert - Tianyao Lyu (China)

Krystian Zimmerman Award for the best performance of a sonata - Zitong Wang (China)

The Fryderyk Chopin Society Award for the best performance of a polonaise - Tianyou Li (China)

The Bella Davidovich Award for the best performance of a ballad - Adam Kałduński (Poland)

On 21 October at 8 p.m., the Grand Theatre - National Opera will host an awards gala and the first of three concerts by the winners. It will be streamed on the Chopin Institute's YouTube channel.

The next competition, the 20th, will take place in five years. Earlier, in 2027, the 100th anniversary of the organisation of the first competition between the world's best pianists will be celebrated.