Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

The 2024 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition was held in Brisbane, Australia, from July 6 to 13, and the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano was chosen as the official piano for the competition.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the competition, and Kawai has begun to provide support starting from this edition. 

Artistic Directors Oleg Stepanov and Natasha Vlassenko praise the instrument’s “beautiful and powerful sound, clarity of articulation, great projection and brilliancy,” adding that “these qualities enormously helped young performers to fully realise their artistic potential.” 

Kawai Australia’s General Manager, Warrick Baker, is also proud to support Australian and New Zealand pianists through the Lev Vlassenko events. After another successful tour for the SK-EX concert grand, he says: “The Lev Vlassenko organisation has created a platform for young Australian pianists to build international performance careers since its inception in 1999, when Kawai was the founding partner. We are delighted to have our Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand chosen as the official piano to celebrate the 25th Anniversary.”

Final results:

Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition

1st Prize
Reuben Tsang

2nd Prize
Joshua Han

3rd Prize
Samuel Choi

Concerto Prize
Joshua Han

Peoples' Choice Prize
Reuben Tsang

Reuben Tsang　© Erika Myer

 

Young Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition

1st Prize
Elton Sun

2nd Prize
Jeffrey Dong

3rd Prize
Eric Neumann

Concerto Prize
Elton Sun

Peoples' Choice Prize
Jeffrey Dong

Elton Sun　© Erika Myer

 

Comments from prize winner

■ Reuben Tsang (Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition)

It was very interesting to play this piano across multiple venues during the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition. In the first round, I performed this piano in the Ian Hanger Recital Hall. In this space, I also had the chance to hear the piano from the audience’s perspective… the piano filled the entire hall with such boldness and vibrancy, which was a totally unique and remarkable listening experience.

For my semi-final performance in the QSO (Queensland Symphony Orchestra) Studios, I distinctly remember how much clarity and depth I could get in the sound of the piano, which made me feel grounded. I found that the piano barely had any limitations in achieving desired expressions. I felt very much at home and free to indulge in the richness of the sound.

It was also a great privilege to perform Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto with Benjamin Northey conducting the QSO. Again, I felt that the Shigeru Kawai greatly facilitated in achieving a bold and well-rounded sound necessary for this glorious piece of music.

I also chose to play on the Shigeru Kawai for my semi-final round in the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, so this piano really appeals to me in many ways.

About the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition

Established in 1999, the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition & Festival is a major Australian piano event, held biennially in Brisbane. It provides talented Australian & New Zealand based performers between 16 and 30 with a major platform to develop professionally & artistically.

Official website: https://www.lev-vlassenko.com/

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/