{"id":118758,"date":"2025-10-21T10:17:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T14:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118758"},"modified":"2025-10-21T10:17:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T14:17:34","slug":"scoop-canadian-kevin-chen-takes-home-silver-19th-international-fryderyk-chopin-piano-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/21\/scoop-canadian-kevin-chen-takes-home-silver-19th-international-fryderyk-chopin-piano-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | Canadian Kevin Chen Takes Home Silver At The 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_118760\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118760\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-21T092158.396.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Chen performs in the final round of the Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition on October 20, 2025 (Photo: Wojciech Grz\u0119dzi\u0144ski \/ NIFC)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-21T092158.396.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-21T092158.396-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-21T092158.396-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-21T092158.396-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118760\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevin Chen performs in the final round of the Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition on October 20, 2025 (Photo: Wojciech Grz\u0119dzi\u0144ski \/ NIFC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s six preludes (Nos. 7 to 12) from the composer\u2019s Op. 28.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Fryderyk Chopin Institute\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@chopininstitute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe worked very hard, and we had a number of very difficult discussions involving our opinions about artistic matters,\u201d jury chair Ohlsson said ahead of announcing the winner. \u201cI think we have a fine decision for this year&#8217;s competition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Chen performs at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall in the first round of the competition on October 4, 2025:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iZApAYKkPzY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Kevin Chen<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s another milestone for Chen, who is already well on the way to an international career.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin is no stranger to international competitions, or wins. In 2023, he was awarded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/03\/31\/scoop-18-year-old-canadian-kevin-chen-wins-first-prize-rubinstein-competition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Prize at the Rubenstein Competition<\/a>, and a year earlier, at just 17, he took home <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/11\/04\/scoop-17-year-old-canadian-kevin-chen-wins-1st-prize-76th-concours-de-geneve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Prize at the 76th Concours de Gen\u00e8ve<\/a>. In 2021, he won first prize at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin began studying piano at the age of five, and went on to win his first competition \u2014 the Canadian Music Competition \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>He has already performed on some of the world\u2019s most prominent stages, including Carnegie Hall in New York City, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and St. John\u2019s Smith Square in London. Chen has been invited to perform at the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdr\u00f3j, the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw, and the Oxford Piano Festival, among other international music festivals.<\/p>\n<p>Since October 2023, Kevin has been continuing his studies at the Hochschule f\u00fcr Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin\u2019s final round, performed on October 20, 2025:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_QgvXbaLFPs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>The Competition &amp; Prizes<\/h3>\n<p>The 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition awards a number of prizes, including special categories.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1st Prize \u2013 Eric Lu (USA)<\/li>\n<li>2nd Prize \u2013 Kevin Chen (Canada)<\/li>\n<li>3rd Prize \u2013 Zitong Wang (China)<\/li>\n<li>4th Prize \u2013 Tianyao Lyu (China); Shiori Kuwahara (Japan)<\/li>\n<li>5th Prize \u2013 Piotr Alexewicz (Poland); Vincent Ong (Malaysia)<\/li>\n<li>6th Prize \u2013 William Yang (USA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Special Prizes<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Polish Radio Award for the best performance of Mazurkas \u2013 Jehuda Prokopowicz (Poland)<\/li>\n<li>Warsaw Philharmonic Award for the best performance of a Concerto \u2013 Tianyao Lyu (China)<\/li>\n<li>Krystian Zimerman Award for the best performance of a Sonata \u2013 Zitong Wang (China)<\/li>\n<li>Fryderyk Chopin Society Award for the best performance of a Polonaise \u2013 Tianyou Li (China)<\/li>\n<li>Bella Davidovich Award for the best performance of a Ballade \u2013 Adam Ka\u0142du\u0144ski (Poland)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_118761\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118761\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/NIFC20251020_Fot.KrzysztofSzlezak_KSZ_5896.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Chen performs in the final round of the Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition on October 20, 2025 (Photo: Krzysztof Szl\u0119zak \/ NIFC)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/NIFC20251020_Fot.KrzysztofSzlezak_KSZ_5896.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/NIFC20251020_Fot.KrzysztofSzlezak_KSZ_5896-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/NIFC20251020_Fot.KrzysztofSzlezak_KSZ_5896-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/NIFC20251020_Fot.KrzysztofSzlezak_KSZ_5896-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevin Chen performs with Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra during the Final stage of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Poland, 20th of October, 2025 (Photo: Krzysztof Szlezak for NIFC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/10\/16\/scoop-glenn-gould-school-student-eric-guo-wins-2nd-international-chopin-competition-period-instruments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eric Guo<\/a> advanced as far at Stage III of the competition.<\/p>\n<p>The prizes are awarded by a 17-person jury of international musicians and experts, chaired by pianist Garrick Ohlsson.<\/p>\n<p>First Prize comes with a \u20ac60,000 cash prize and a gold medal funded by the President of Poland. Chen\u2019s second prize earns a silver medal and \u20ac40,000 cash, with third receiving a bronze medal and \u20ac35,000.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to Eric Lu, and Canada\u2019s Kevin Chen for an incredible achievement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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