The Grand Prix of the competition was awarded to Emir Zakaria and Charlie Wu. The title of laureate was awarded to Ilya Somov (Belarus), Yanyang Peng (China), Mikhail Pirozhenko (Russia), Anna Karakina (Russia), Geonho Kim (South Korea) and Deni Kokhanovsky (Russia). The diploma winners of the competition were Shanwei Liu (China), Alexander Bitter (Russia), Yaroslav Markov (Russia), Jacqueline Wong (Australia), Jiaan Zhang (China), Andrija Boskovic (Croatia) and Richard Rait (Switzerland).
“When I listen to a talented performance, I do not hide the fact that I and the highly respected members of the jury learn a lot from the participants,” says Denis Matsuev, artistic director of the competition. How can they, at such a young age, to use cinematic language, deliver their best take, without any editing, when millions are watching and the Moscow public is listening? When I look at them, I realize that these are special children, outstanding pianists from completely different schools.
Of course, there's a touch of sadness because the competition is over. But for them, it's just the beginning, and they know it perfectly well – they don't need reminders to go to practice tomorrow. Over the past 10 years, each of the Grand Pianists has represented their school on the world's best stages."
Live broadcasts of the auditions and recordings of the competitors' performances have garnered nearly 1,000,000 views. The Grand Piano Competition VKontakte community became the competition's main social media platform, publishing news about the auditions, interviews with contestants and jury members, and photo and video reports.
First held in 2016, the competition is held every two years. Many contestants, having gained invaluable stage experience, go on to successful international careers. The Grand Piano Competition continues the traditions of the Russian piano school, helping to expand and strengthen creative connections.