THE 3rd China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition, one of the country’s top three international piano competitions, will kick off in Shenzhen on June 16.

    A total of 45 contestants from around the world are qualified to attend the preliminary, semifinal and the final contests in Shenzhen, while 13 top piano masters are invited to be judges of the competition.

    The competition is one of the three international piano competitions approved by the Chinese Government and the only concerto competition in China.

    “The competition will be a precious opportunity for gifted young pianists from around the world to play concertos with a professional symphony orchestra,” said well-known Chinese pianist Li Mingqiang. “It aims to promote international exchange and collaborations, and discover promising young artists.”

    Unlike many of the piano competitions in the world, the Shenzhen competition focuses on concertos only. Each contestant has to finish four concertos during the competition.

    “A concerto should be played with an orchestra, which would not be easy to achieve for many other competitions,” said Dan Zhouyi, judge of the preliminary selection of the competition and prestigious piano professor. “It is not easy to ask a symphony orchestra to help piano contestants practice, rehearse and compete. I’m so impressed by Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra’s significant contribution to the event. Their participation also makes the competition a great concert for audiences.”

    “I find many audiences think that it is boring to listen to piano solos at competitions, but they would love to enjoy a competition like this as it turns a piano competition into a high-end concert,” said popular young pianist Chen Sa who is also a judge of the preliminary selection of the competition.

    Widely-respected Chinese piano professor Zhou Guangren is the honorable chairman of the judging committee. The other 12 judges include pianists Andrzey Jasnski from Poland, Boris Berman from the United States, Nojima Minoru from Japan, conductor Chirstain Ehwald from Germany and piano professor Arie Vardi from Germany. Jasnski is also the chairman of the judging committee for International Chopin Piano Competition, one of the top piano competitions in the world.

    There are 17 overseas contestants and 28 Chinese contestants who had passed the preliminary selection.

    “The competition this year will be very strong. Many of the contestants are international award winners,” said Wu Yin, head of the piano department of Central Conservatory of Music.

    “I watched their performances in the preliminary selection section. They were amazing,” Chen said.

    The 1st China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition was held in 2006. It is held in the city once every three years and has attracted audiences of more than 60,000 people across the city.

    The ticket plan for the competition has not been announced yet, but the cultural department, the organizer of the competition, said that the tickets may be claimed by registrating online or sold at stands for affordable prices.

    (Wang Yuanyuan)