A Canadian finalist has made it to the last stage of the prestigious 2025 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Kevin Chen from Calgary, aged 20, is among the 11 finalists revealed on October 16. Each finalist will perform a Chopin piano concerto with the Warsaw Philharmonic to compete for the renowned gold medal and a prize of $97,537.
The final phase of the competition will span three evenings on October 18, 19, and 20, culminating in the announcement of the winners. All performances can be watched live on the YouTube channel of the Chopin Institute.
Chen has selected Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 11, for his final performance scheduled for October 20 at 6 p.m. local time. Andrey Boreyko, the former principal guest conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and ex-music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the Warsaw Philharmonic for all 11 finalists’ performances.
Competitors had to progress through a preliminary round held in April and May, with 171 pianists participating, followed by three successive solo recitals in October: Stage 1 (84 pianists), Stage 2 (40 pianists), and Stage 3 (20 pianists).
Chen has recently achieved success at other international piano competitions, winning the first prize of $51,000 at the 2023 Artur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv and $27,000 at the 2022 Geneva International Music Competition. Unfortunately, Toronto’s Eric Guo, aged 23, who reached Stage 3, did not make it to the final.
Canadian pianists have displayed dominance in the last two editions of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. Bruce Liu clinched the gold medal in 2021, a year later than planned due to the pandemic, and Charles Richard-Hamelin secured the silver medal in 2015. Vietnamese Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son emerged as the gold medalist in 1980.
The 2025 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition finalists were chosen by a jury led by Garrick Ohlsson and comprising other renowned figures in the music industry. This competition is held every five years, offering the first prize laureate global exposure through numerous concert engagements and recording projects.
Esteemed past laureates include Maurizio Pollini (1960), Martha Argerich (1965), Garrick Ohlsson (1970), Krystian Zimerman (1975), Đặng Thái Sơn (1980), Yundi Li (2000), and Seong-Jin Cho (2015).
