Get Ready for the 2025 Chopin Competition
This autumn, the world’s most talented pianists are coming to Warsaw. Held every five years, the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is one of the most important and prestigious music competitions on the international stage. Below you’ll find the list of participants for the 19th edition, as well as key dates and all the current favourites.
The elimination stages for the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition came to an end on 4th May 2025. As many as 642 musicians applied to take part in this year’s contest. Based on their submitted recordings, 162 pianists from 28 countries were admitted to the preliminary auditions in May at Warsaw’s National Philharmonic, playing before a live audience and an elimination jury headed by Piotr Paleczny.
Who’s playing at the Chopin Competition?
A total of 66 pianists were selected for the first round of the finals of Poland’s most famous music competition. Another 19 pianists earned automatic entry thanks to their laureate titles at other major piano competitions (including the Polish Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, the Paderewski Competition in Bydgoszcz, as well as international contests in Leeds, Miami, Bolzano, Tel Aviv and Hamamatsu).
Where do the participants of the 2025 Chopin Competition come from?
The largest group of competitors will be from China (29 participants). Poland and Japan will each be represented by 13 pianists. Other participants come from the USA (5), Canada (5), South Korea (4), Taiwan (3), Italy (3) and the UK (3). There are also individual pianists from Georgia, Bulgaria, Spain and one competing under a neutral flag (born in Russia). Polish participants at the 2025 Chopin Competition
- Piotr Alexewicz
- Mateusz Krzyżowski
- Andrzej Wierciński
- Adam Kałduński
- Viet Trung Nguyen (Việt Trung Nguyễn)
- Mateusz Dubiel
- Michał Basista
- Antoni Kłeczek
- Yehuda Prokopowicz
- Zuzanna Sejbuk
- Jan Widlarz
- Krzysztof Wierciński
- Piotr Ryszard Pawlak
Picture display
standardowy (864px desktop)
Aimi Kobayashi, fourth prize winner of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, photo: Darek Golik / NIFC
Picture image
aimi_kobayashi_fot._darek_golik_nifc_2.jpg
Who are the current favourites to win the 2025 Chopin Competition?
Audience favourites are returning to the stage – among the competitors are several veterans of previous Chopin competitions:
- Eric Lu (USA) – 4th prize at the 2015 edition of the competition
- Eric Guo (Canada) – participant in the 2021 preliminaries, winner of the 2023 Chopin Competition on Period Instruments
- Hao Rao (China) and Hyuk Lee (South Korea) – finalists in 2021
There are also several Poles with competition experience:
- Piotr Alexewicz, Mateusz Krzyżowski and Andrzej Wierciński were semifinalists in the last edition of the competition back in 2021
- Adam Kałduński and Viet Trung Nguyen gained acclaim in the early rounds that same year
- Piotr Ryszard Pawlak appeared in the preliminaries and later won 2nd prize in the 2023 Chopin Competition on Period Instruments
Picture display
standardowy (864px desktop)
Bruce (Xiaoyu) Liu, winner of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, photo: Wojciech Grzędziński / NIFC
Picture image
brus_chopin_nagroda.jpg
When is the 2025 Chopin Competition being held?
- Opening ceremony – 2nd October 2025 (Warsaw National Philharmonic)
- Competition rounds (I–III) – 3rd–20th October 2025
- Results announcement & prizewinners’ concert – 21st October 2025
Pianos at the 2025 Chopin Competition: what are the participants playing on?
Every Chopin Competition contestant will make the key decision of which instrument to perform on. They can choose between seven grand pianos: a C. Bechstein, a Fazioli, a Kawai, two Steinways and a Yamaha.
This is the first time a C. Bechstein has been featured in the competition for several decades – pianos made by this German company were used by pianists at the competition both before and after World War II. The brand most historically tied to the Warsaw competition is Steinway, their pianos having been available to competitors in every edition since the inaugural one in 1927. It has also persistently been the most frequently chosen – during the last edition in 2021, 75% of participants chose to play a Steinway. Meanwhile, the brand least selected in 2021 was Kawai.
Competitors have just 15 minutes to select their instrument. Some scrupulously test the sound of every available piano, while others go straight to their preferred brand.
Picture display
standardowy (864px desktop)
19th Chopin Competition, preliminaries, 24 April, evening session, photo: W. Grzędziński / NIFC
Picture image
492614980_991734329830557_11225790890946807_n.jpg
Who is on the jury of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition?
The jury will be chaired by Garrick Ohlsson (USA), winner of the 1970 edition and a juror in 2015. Other members of the 2025 jury include John Allison, Julianna Awdiejewa (winner in 2010), Michel Beroff, Sa Chen (4th place in 2000), Nelson Goerner, Krzysztof Jabłoński (3rd place in 1985), Kevin Kenner (2nd place in 1990), Momo Kodama, Akiko Ebi (5th place in 1980), Robert McDonald, Piotr Paleczny (3rd place in 1970), Ewa Pobłocka (5th place in 1980), Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń (jury chair in 2015 and 2021), John Rink, Wojciech Świtała and Đặng Thái Sơn (winner of the 1980 edition).
Picture display
standardowy (864px desktop)
Józef Kurowski, 'Fryderyk Chopin Proposing a Toast', 1837, photo: National Library Polona
Picture image
fryderyk_chopin_wyglaszajacy_toast_polona.jpg
How to watch the Chopin Competition 2025 – live transmissions & recordings
All stages of the competition will be broadcast for free across multiple media. In Poland, there will be live broadcasts on the TVP Kultura TV channel and on the radio stations Polskie Radio Dwójka and Polskie Radio Chopin. Outside of Poland, there are multiple ways to watch all the events online.
What are the prizes during the 2025 Chopin Competition?
Every participant receives a €8,000 honorarium. The top prizes are as follows:
- 1st prize: Gold medal + €60,000
- 2nd prize: Silver medal + €40,000
- 3rd prize: Bronze medal + €35,000
- 4th prize: €30,000
- 5th prize: €25,000
- 6th prize: €20,000
In addition, special and extra-statutory prizes will be awarded by musical institutions, associations and private sponsors.
After the competition, the winners will embark on a world tour across Europe, Asia and the Americas, organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in partnership with the Liu Kotow agency.