CANADIAN pianist Bruce Xiaoyu Liu was awarded the first prize in the 18th Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland on Thursday, clinching one of the world’s most prestigious music awards.

“Being able to play Chopin in Warsaw is one of the best things you can imagine,” Liu, 24, said as the jury announced their decision at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall.

The announcement from the jury came just hours after Liu played as the last entrant among the 12 finalists, performing Chopin’s “Concerto in E Minor, Op. 11.” His inspired performance was met with huge applause.

Liu graduated from Montreal Conservatoire, Canada. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the Americas.

Japan’s Kyohei Sorita came joint-second with Italian-Slovenian Alexander Gadjiev. Spain’s Martin Garcia Garcia came third.

The Chopin competition is the most important musical event in Poland and one of the most important musical events in the world. Apart from its huge role in popularizing Chopin’s music, it discovers the greatest pianistic talents, providing young musicians with the most effective start in their international career. Previous winners of the Chopin competition include some of the greatest names in classical music, such as Krystian Zimerman, Fou Ts’ong, Martha Argerich and Li Yundi.

Held every five years since 1927, the Chopin competition would normally have been held last year, but was postponed because of the pandemic. “It was challenging to get all the competitors into Poland,” said Artur Szklener, director of the National Institute of Frederic Chopin, which organizes the competition.

But one of the 17 jury members, Argentinian concert pianist Nelson Goerner, believes that pandemic-related lockdowns helped raise the standard of this year’s competition. “The level this year is remarkable,” Goerner said earlier in the competition. “The pianists have had more time to prepare and I think the pandemic has awakened in all of us a desire to go further, to surpass ourselves. You can hear it in how these young pianists are playing,” he said.

This year’s event drew 87 pianists from across the globe, including 22 from China, 16 from Poland and 14 from Japan. Broadcast live on YouTube and via a bespoke mobile app, the contest attracted record online interest. (SD-Agencies)