Considered one of the world’s great piano contests, Sydney International Piano Competition takes place every four years and returns this July for two and a half weeks of virtuosic playing.
Thirty-two of the world’s best pianists will compete for nearly $200,000 in prize money. Five Australians have made the cut this time. Ayesha Gough from Brisbane, Daniel Le from Melbourne, Edward Neeman from Victoria, Tony Lee from Sydney and Hong Kong-born Australian Jeremy So from Sydney will measure up against competitors from as far afield as Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, China, USA and Japan.
The preliminary heats and semi-finals are on July 7-16 at the Conservatorium of Music and the event will crescendo with the finals held July 19-23 at the Sydney Opera House. Finals performances are accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of Benjamin Northey and Nicholas Milton.
“The standard of piano playing in the world is at an all-time high and the Sydney audience is in for a treat,” says the competiton’s artistic director, Piers Lane. Judges this year include some of the finest piano players in the world.