13th International Paderewski Piano Competition: Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano selected by 1st prize winner and 5th prize winner

At the 13th International Paderewski Piano Competition held from November 9th to 23rd, 2025, in Bydgoszcz, Poland, 1st prize winner and 5th prize winner performed using the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano.

A total of 234 pianists from 35 countries applied to take part in the Competition. Fifty-one pianists from 15 countries qualified for the Competition. Ultimately, 43 pianists from 13 countries participated in the 13th Competition.The participants who qualified for the Competition took part in four-stage auditions held in Bydgoszcz at the new campus of the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music and at the Pomeranian Philharmonic Hall named after I. J. Paderewski. In the final stage, each participant performed a piano concerto of their choice with the Pomeranian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jakub Chrenowicz. And the first prize winner, Hyunjin ROH and fifth prize winner, Shuhei AOSHIMA selected the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano throughout each round of the competition.

1st Prize Winner: ROH Hyunjin

And Kawai’s most esteemed piano technicians, MPA (Master Piano Artisan), Shinya Kurata from Kawai Europe and Yuta Miura from Kawai Japan also played a pivotal role at this competition. They diligently worked on not only crafting the sound, but also contestant support through active communication.

Mr. Shinya Kurata (Kawai’s MPA)

Mr. Yuta Miura (Kawai’s MPA)

■ 13th International Paderewski Piano Competition : Final Result

1st Prize Winner: ROH Hyunjin

3rd Prize Winner: AOSHIMA Shuhei

■ Final stage performance

■ About the International Paderewski Piano Competition

The International Paderewski Piano Competition is organized to commemorate Ignacy Jan Paderewski, an exceptional pianist, virtuoso, composer, politician and statesman.
First All-Polish Paderewski Piano Competition Bydgoszcz, December 1 – 10, 1961 The students and alumni from the academic year 1960/61 of higher musical schools in Poland participated in the competition. Twenty seven candidates representing Katowice, Cracow, Łódź, Poznań, Sopot and Warsaw entered the competition. Eventually 17 participants reported for the audition. The most renowned Polish musicians sat in the Jury.

Official website: https://paderewskicompetition.pl/

■ About the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano

Unveiled in 2001 as the flagship instrument of the Shigeru Kawai line, the SK-EX concert grand piano is hand-crafted in limited numbers following a unique ‘prototyping’ creation process. In order to achieve the supreme range of expression required in a concert piano, each instrument utilises a variety of carefully selected materials, with premium aged spruce soundboards. Shigeru Kawai instruments adopt the advanced Millennium III keyboard action, featuring extended wooden keys and advanced ABS Carbon action parts, providing superior speed and responsiveness than conventional wooden action parts, allowing pianists to express a greater range of feeling and emotion in their performance.

Shigeru Kawai official website: https://www.shigerukawai.jp/en/