News Flash

2025-10-24

Toy Piano Avant Garde

Margaret Leng Tan, the Singapore-born pianist in New York, has transformed everyday objects into instruments, from toy pianos to teapots, becoming a pioneering muse of American experimental music and redefining musical possibility for decades.
Read more at koreaherald.com

2025-10-23

Chopin Joy and Pride in Asia

At the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which concluded in Warsaw on Tuesday, young pianists of Asian descent excelled. Of this year’s 11 finalists, nine were of Asian heritage, including three participants from China.
Read more at chinadaily.com.cn

2025-10-22

Gilels' Cultural Ambassadorship

Emil Gilels, celebrated for his technical brilliance and expressive playing, trained at the Moscow Conservatory. He became a key cultural ambassador, promoting innovative Soviet music by composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich both at home and abroad.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-10-22

Happy Birthday Franz Liszt!

At age 74, Liszt traveled yearly to Rome, frequently meeting Prix de Rome winners. That year, he visited painter Hébert’s home for a party honoring young Debussy. Debussy and Paul Vidal arranged a two-piano version of Liszt’s Faust Symphony to honor him, though Liszt likely dozed off during the performance.
Read more at wqxr.org

2025-10-21

American Pianist Eric Lu's Grand Win

American pianist Eric Lu won the top award at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, after lengthy jury discussions. He receives €60,000 and a gold medal, with jury chair Ohlsson commending the competition’s high level.
Read more at polskieradio.pl

2025-10-20

Last Day of Finals in Warsaw

All finalists perform Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasy, Op. 61, and a piano concerto - either E minor or F minor - accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic under Andrzej Boreyko. Contestants represent seven countries.
Read more at polskieradio.pl

2025-10-18

The Sound of 11 000 Strings!

For the North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s “11,000 Strings,” 50 pianos are arranged in a vast circle around 1,300 seats at the Park Avenue Armory. Tuning all the instruments takes about 20 hours.
Read more at nytimes.com

2025-10-17

Uchida's Five Star Beethoven

Mitsuko Uchida captivated Wigmore Hall with Beethoven’s final three sonatas (Opp. 109, 110, 111), delivering performances of exquisite detail and tenderness. Together, these works transcended their individual brilliance, becoming something profound and exhilarating.
Read more at theguardian.com

2025-10-17

Eleven Finalists in Warsaw

The jury, chaired by American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, made an exception to its standard rule of selecting 10 finalists, admitting 11 this year after a tie between the 10th and 11th places. Alongside Poland, the final will feature three pianists from China, two each from Japan and the United States, and one each from Georgia, Canada, and Malaysia.
Read more at polskieradio.pl

2025-10-16

Pianism Meets Science

In addition to his piano career, Abdyssagin explores music theory. His 2024 book, "Quantum Mechanics and Avant-Garde Music: Shadows of the Void", examines connections between physics concepts and modern music, including silence and scientific influence on musical structure.
Read more at universiteitleiden.nl

2025-10-15

Lim's Hellish Years

World-renowned pianist Lim Yun-chan, 21, now living in the U.S., described his years in Korea’s intense education system as “hellish” and said he “wanted to die,” highlighting the country’s fiercely competitive culture.
Read more at koreatimes.co.kr

2025-10-14

Asian Trend Breaking

This year marks the 10th anniversary of pianist Cho Seong-jin’s Chopin Competition win. In the latest third round, 60% of qualifiers are Asian, compared to just 25% in 2015—a remarkable shift in representation.
Read more at chosun.com

2025-10-14

Expert Comments from Warsaw

Polish Radio music commentator Adam Rozlach noted that the group features nearly all early standouts highlighted by critics and audiences, including three Polish contestants. “The favorites have largely been confirmed,” Rozlach observed.
Read more at polskieradio.pl

2025-10-13

Taubert's Piano Sonatas

Pianist-scholar Lucas Wong’s new album, Wilhelm Taubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, offers the first complete recording of these neglected Romantic works, reviving Taubert’s music for modern audiences.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-10-12

Pianists Should Sing!

Ratinov recalled his first teacher, his grandmother Edit Ratinova, who always insisted - sometimes sternly - that a pianist’s job is to make the piano sing, so listeners imagine a voice, especially when playing Chopin.
Read more at pap.pl

2025-10-11

Pianistic Touch Measured

Using high-tech sensors, researchers led by Dr. Shinichi Furuya scientifically proved that pianists’ touch alters a piano’s timbre. Listeners reliably heard these changes, bridging art and science and transforming our understanding of musical creativity and performance.
Read more at scitechdaily.com

2025-10-10

Catch the Chopin Tram!

A pianist performs Chopin's music for riders aboard the "Chopin Tram" in Warsaw, Poland, on Oct. 9, 2025. This public initiative logically coincides with the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition.
Read more at news.cn

2025-10-09

Eunuice Norton - Link to the Past

People attending Leon Fleisher’s piano classes at Peabody most likely absorbed Schnabel’s legacy. Eunice Norton, who studied with both Matthay and Schnabel, enjoyed a distinguished career shaped by these legendary teachers and their traditions.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-10-08

Excellent Amateurs!

The sixth PianoLink International Amateurs Competition, led by Andrea Vizzini and Roberto Prosseda, concluded successfully at Cremona Musica. Vizzini noted the event’s global reach and the essential support from partners.
Read more at cremonamusica.com

2025-10-07

Warsaw: 40 Qualify to 2nd Stage

The centenary 19th Chopin Competition in Warsaw advances, with 40 pianists chosen from 84 entrants for the second round, following a jury selection led by Garrick Ohlsson. The next stage runs October 9–12.
Read more at moto-perpetuo.com

2025-10-06

From Spain to Warsaw via Italy

Pedro López Salas, a Spanish pianist born in 1997, turned his inspiration from a Tom & Jerry scene into a promising career. Starting at age 9, he left soccer behind, excelling in competitions like Malta, Spain, and Paderewski, and recently performed Chopin at Cremona Musica 2025 in preparation for the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in October.
Read more at cremonamusica.com

2025-10-05

Best and Worst for Pianist Piemontesi

"I’ve never truly been in Hell, but moments feel like the world is crashing down. Early in my career during competitions, I faced that - most notably at the Queen Elisabeth, where I lost my way mid-performance but somehow pulled through."
Read more at classical-music.com

2025-10-04

Sudbin and Debussy at Tippet Rise

Art, music, architecture, and nature unite to amplify the human experience at the Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana. Hear Yevgeny Sudbin perform Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse.
Read more at tippetrise.org