19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition: Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano selected by 3rd prize winner and 5th prize winners

Chinese pianist Zitong Wang has been awarded the 3rd prize at the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition held in Warsaw, Poland from October 2nd~23rd 2025, following a series of performances playing the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano. Piotr Alexewicz (Poland) and Vincent Ong (Malaysia), who also selected the SK-EX for the duration of the competition, have been awarded the 5th prize.

Kawai has provided instruments for official selection in the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition since the 11th edition held in 1985.
Throughout the competition period, Kawai staff, led by Mr. Mariusz Adamczak, Kawai Europa GmbH Poland Branch, provided full support to the contestants.
And Kawai’s most esteemed piano technicians, MPA (Master Piano Artisan), Hidemi Okubo, Yoshifumi Sato from Kawai Japan, and Naoto Ichikawa from Kawai Europe also played a pivotal role at this competition. They diligently worked on not only crafting the sound, but also contestant support through active communication.

(From left) Mr. Yoshifumi Sato and Mr. Hidemi Okubo (Kawai’s MPAs)

Held every five years, the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions, attracting prominent pianists from all four corners of the globe. In the 19th edition, a record number of over 640 young artists from the farthest corners of the world applied to participate. 162 people took part in the preliminary rounds, while 84 performers from 19 countries competed in the main competition.

Jury members

■ 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition: Final Results

Zitong Wang (3rd prize winner)

Piotr Alexewicz (5th prize winner)

Vincent Ong (5th prize winner)

■ About the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

Established and inaugurated in 1927, the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is one of the oldest music events of its kind in the world. 2025 will see the beginning of a series of special celebrations for its centenary. In the course of the past century, the formal aspects of the competition have constantly evolved, resulting in changing the number of its stages, programme, judging criteria, prizes, and also the media through which audiences have experienced the competition recitals. There have only been two elements of the Competition that have remained unchanged since its inception: Chopin’s music and the fascination of pianists and audiences alike. Another chapter in the hundred-year-long tradition is opening before us. The competition is organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

Official website: https://www.chopincompetition.pl/en

■ 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/