Canadian Kevin Chen has emerged from the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition with a silver medal. The 20-year old Calgary-born pianist came second to American Pianist Eric Lu, who took home first prize at the Leeds Competition in 2018 when he was 20.
The prizes will be given today, October 21, at 8 p.m. local time in Warsaw at a gala event. There will be performances by the 11 finalists at the award ceremony, where Chen will play Chopin’s six preludes (Nos. 7 to 12) from the composer’s Op. 28.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Fryderyk Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel.
“We worked very hard, and we had a number of very difficult discussions involving our opinions about artistic matters,” jury chair Ohlsson said ahead of announcing the winner. “I think we have a fine decision for this year’s competition.”
Kevin Chen performs at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall in the first round of the competition on October 4, 2025:
Kevin Chen
It’s another milestone for Chen, who is already well on the way to an international career.
Kevin is no stranger to international competitions, or wins. In 2023, he was awarded First Prize at the Rubenstein Competition, and a year earlier, at just 17, he took home First Prize at the 76th Concours de Genève. In 2021, he won first prize at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest.
Kevin began studying piano at the age of five, and went on to win his first competition — the Canadian Music Competition — at age eight. A year earlier, at seven, he made his performance debut with the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra. He earned his RCM ARCT in 2017.
He’s performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Hungarian National Orchestra, among others.
He has already performed on some of the world’s most prominent stages, including Carnegie Hall in New York City, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and St. John’s Smith Square in London. Chen has been invited to perform at the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw, and the Oxford Piano Festival, among other international music festivals.
Since October 2023, Kevin has been continuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.
Kevin’s final round, performed on October 20, 2025:
The Competition & Prizes
The 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition awards a number of prizes, including special categories.
- 1st Prize – Eric Lu (USA)
- 2nd Prize – Kevin Chen (Canada)
- 3rd Prize – Zitong Wang (China)
- 4th Prize – Tianyao Lyu (China); Shiori Kuwahara (Japan)
- 5th Prize – Piotr Alexewicz (Poland); Vincent Ong (Malaysia)
- 6th Prize – William Yang (USA)
Special Prizes
- Polish Radio Award for the best performance of Mazurkas – Jehuda Prokopowicz (Poland)
- Warsaw Philharmonic Award for the best performance of a Concerto – Tianyao Lyu (China)
- Krystian Zimerman Award for the best performance of a Sonata – Zitong Wang (China)
- Fryderyk Chopin Society Award for the best performance of a Polonaise – Tianyou Li (China)
- Bella Davidovich Award for the best performance of a Ballade – Adam Kałduński (Poland)
The journey to the competition began with auditions on October 3, 2025. The competition received a record number of more than 640 submissions from around the world. A total of 162 were chosen to participation in the preliminary rounds, a number that was whittled down to 84 young pianists from 19 countries to take part in the main competition rounds.
The competitors included 28 participants from China, 13 each from Japan and Poland, five Canadians, four Americans, three each from Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Great Britain, and Italy, along with individuals from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Spain, Malaysia, Portugal, and Vietnam. Glenn Gould School student Eric Guo advanced as far at Stage III of the competition.
The prizes are awarded by a 17-person jury of international musicians and experts, chaired by pianist Garrick Ohlsson.
First Prize comes with a €60,000 cash prize and a gold medal funded by the President of Poland. Chen’s second prize earns a silver medal and €40,000 cash, with third receiving a bronze medal and €35,000.
Congratulations to Eric Lu, and Canada’s Kevin Chen for an incredible achievement.
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