This triennial event, organized by The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd. gathers in Hong Kong an extraordinary group of pianists, teachers and musicians whose primary purpose is not just to judge a carefully selected group of exceptional young pianists from all over the world, but also to make, together with them, music. This is the third competition organized by the Society, the previous two having taken place in 2005 and 2008. Their success in terms of the quality of the candidates participating, the subsequent success of the first prize winners and the overall contribution that the competition made in asserting Hong Kong’s position as the major hub of artistic excellence in Asia has been most encouraging.

We have to stress that all this has been made possible through the generosity of our sponsors.

Competitions tend to be “musical races” with the single aim of picking a winner. This competition turns the concept on its head emphasizing first and foremost, music-making by all the participants, by ensuring that judges and the judged participate in days of high quality solo recitals, chamber music events and spectacular piano concertos. Then and only then, the focus turns to choosing a winner!

The Society is very privileged by the presence of the world-famous pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, the chairman of the Jury, who will also be conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the official orchestra of the competition, in all stages and events of the competition.

Added to this are, the members of the Jury, all major pianists, teachers and musicians (in alphabetical order): Tigran Alikhanov, Peter Frankl, Gary Graffman, Thorun Johannsdottir-Ashkenazy, Gabriel Kwok Ka-tak, LI Ming-qiang, Garrick Ohlsson, Cristina Ortiz, Pascal Roge, Jeremy Siepmann and Eleanor Wong Yee-lung.

Members of the Jury, as well as invited artists, will be presented in solo piano recitals, as part of a chamber ensemble and in piano concertos. The Chamber Group of the Competition is the LCO (London Chamber Orchestra) Chamber Group consisting of Andrew Haveron (first violin), Magnus Johnston (second violin), Noel Hunter (viola) and Pierre Doumenge (cello).

The orchestra performing during the fourth round of the competition and in the fifth Gala Performance will be the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy and with guest concert master Andrew Haveron.

The Society is delighted to have the participation of the well-known British composer Howard Blake, who has composed a specially commissioned piano piece to be played by each one of the six finalists as part of the Round IV events.

All events of the Competition are open to the public.

Interspersed with the four stages of judging the candidates, there will be five individual, non-competition events, four of them offering a unique opportunity to see the members of the Jury and invited artists in performance.

An essential part of the activities of the Society is the Lady Kadoorie Masters Series which brings to Hong Kong major teachers in master classes as well as in performance. The Competition affords an exceptional opportunity to organize master classes in piano and guitar by members of the Jury and invited artists.

We hope that his competition will first and foremost provide audiences in Hong Kong with a veritable feast of high quality music-making as well as the thrill of following the progress through the stages of the competition of some exceptionally gifted young musicians.

Dr. Andrew Freris,
Chairman,
The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd.