Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition 2025: Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano selected by 1st prize winner

At the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition 2025 held from December 14th to 19th, 2025, in Nashville, USA, 1st prize winner performed using the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano.

Kawai has provided instruments for official selection in the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition.

One of the Kawai’s most esteemed piano technician, MPA (Master Piano Artisan) Akinori Nakajima, also played a pivotal role at the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition. Akinori Nakajima meticulously adjusted the piano to harmonize with the hall’s acoustics, showcasing exceptional skill in managing subtle instrument nuances under challenging environmental conditions.

■ Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition 2025: Final Results

■ Final stage performance

■  Comments from prizewinners

1st prize winner – Guangbin Wang

– How did you feel about winning the prize?

I felt incredibly happy, excited, especially when playing with the orchestra. Every moment was a delightful experience. However, one thing that cannot be overlooked is that I really made a lot of effort and dedication to achieve that.

– What are your impressions of the SK-EX full concert grand piano?

I found that many people in this competition chose the Shigeru Kawai as their personal instrument (including myself), for which I was not surprised. The standout features of the Shigeru Kawai in this competition were its diverse expressions of musical images and its natural feel of the touch. Firstly, in terms of musical presentation, the Shigeru Kawai could convey a wide range of musical emotions and images, such as the poetic pieces like Chopin’s Nocturnes, Ballades, Preludes, Etudes, as well as the hazy effects of Debussy and Ravel, also the grandiosity of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, etc. Secondly, when playing with an orchestra, the Shigeru Kawai’s tone is highly penetrating, especially when performing Chopin’s concertos or Tchaikovsky 1, Rachmaninoff 3. Additionally, the Shigeru Kawai can handle various musical styles, not only classical, but also jazz, funk, R&B, pop & Rock, etc. Furthermore, in terms of the feel of the piano keys, the Shigeru Kawai had a very natural feel, even when moving quickly over extremely soft notes, such as in the fourth movement of Chopin’s Second Sonata. Overall, in my opinion, the Shigeru Kawai is a powerful, beautiful, and highly capable instrument.

– What does music and the piano mean to you?

Music has been my lifelong companion. I can’t live without it for even a moment. Sometimes, my thoughts are entirely consumed by music. The piano is the same way. Sometimes I find it’s difficult to express something in words, and perhaps the piano can help me. Overall, music is the most important part of my life.

– What would you like to communicate or convey through music and the piano—to the audience, to society, or to yourself?

I want to share my unique exploration and understanding of music with them, allowing them to hear different treatments and effects in music. In this competition, I was also awarded the “Best Etude Performance” by the judges on top of receiving the 1st prize. This recognition was due to my extensive studying, thinking and understanding of various styles of playing in different periods of piano performances. I fully integrate my understanding into the treatment of each piece to create a unique style of my own. And I want to share this with the audience when I perform every time. In this competition It seemed like the judges and the audience liked the way I played and I am very happy about that.

– What are your plans and aspirations for the future?

In the future, I plan to delve deeper into more genres of music including orchestral works, operas, chamber music, also jazz, avant-garde, and even folk music to broaden the scope of my musical understanding. And I think eventually this will be reflected in my playing on the piano. I’d love to share that with people in the future.

2nd prize winner – Vladimir Petrov (played SK-EX on the first round)

– How did you feel about winning the prize?

I feel incredibly happy and honored to receive this award. After a long period of preparation, it is a great relief, and I am very much looking forward to future engagements representing the competition.

– What are your impressions of the SK-EX full concert grand piano that you performed on in the first round?

From the very first touch, I knew it was the right choice for my program. Everything felt easy and effortless, with a full, warm timbre that allowed me to shape the sound naturally.

– What does music and the piano mean to you?

It is my passion and my profession, a musical laboratory where I can discover something new every day, something to feel and something to reflect upon.

– What would you like to communicate or convey through music and the piano—to the audience, to society, or to yourself?

I always try to share my own admiration for the music I perform: its narrative, its emotional depth, and its sense of surprise.

– What are your plans and aspirations for the future?

To continue enjoying the experience of sharing meaningful music with ever wider audiences, and to keep discovering new facets of my musical journey, my ongoing musical laboratory.

■ About the Takamatsu International Piano Competition

The inaugural Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition was held in October 2023 while the second edition was held in December 2025. The competition is a biannual event. Artistic Director, Dr. Graciella Kowalczyk, and Administrative Director Joshua Izzard, along with our jury and organizers, have been part of the competition world for decades and are bringing this wealth of experience to deliver a new type of competition that provides unparalleled opportunity.

Official website: https://www.nashvillechopin.org/

■ 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/