Major international concert tour of Competition’s laureates

The 19th Chopin Competition concluded with a gala award ceremony for the laureates at the Teatr Wielki – National Opera in Warsaw. The solemn event attracted an audience of 2,000, and the pianists received their laurels, medals, and distinctions from the most important figures in the country and representatives of the event’s patrons. Today, the young artists who were awarded in the Competition are playing their final concert in the Polish capital before embarking on a major international tour of Europe, Asia, and America.

Organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in cooperation with the Liu Kotow agency, the concert tour begins tomorrow – Friday, October 24th – in Katowice, where two pianists will perform in the evening at the headquarter of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra: David Khrikuli will give a solo recital, and Eric Lu will perform the Concerto in F minor, Op. 21 (with Antoni Wit conducting the NOSPR ensemble). On the same day, Wrocław residents will have the opportunity to hear second-prize winner Kevin Chen – the Canadian pianist will play Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 at the National Forum of Music – the NFM orchestra will be led by Anna Sułkowska-Migoń; the concert will be repeated on Saturday. On Sunday, Eric Lu will visit Wrocław for a solo recital, and on Monday, both artists will perform at the Auditorium of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. The Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanying Lu, will be conducted by Łukasz Borowicz. And on Wednesday, Lu and Chen, joined by Zitong Wang, who won the Competition’s bronze medal, will participate in a grand gala at the Berlin Philharmonic.

The laureates’ next stops include Italy, Estonia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Argentina, and France – to name just a few. The entire tour is scheduled until August 2026, and we will keep you updated on the upcoming concerts.