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4th Samson François International Piano Competition: Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano and SK-7 grand piano chosen as the official pianos for the competition
The 4th Samson François International Piano Competition took place in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, from June 28 to July 4, with the selection of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano and SK-7 grand piano as the official instruments for the event.
Kawai France's artistic deirector, Carine Daniau-Sinigaglia, and technical director, Louis-Marie Boussuge, were dispatched to support this competition. Thanks to their diligent efforts and meticulous preparation of the pianos, the contestants were able to perform at their best.
The 4th Samson François International Piano Competition: Final Results
Young Children Category (8 years or under - born after June 27, 2016)
| 1st Unanimous Prize with congratulations from the jury | Noémie Cheng |
| 1st Unanimous Prize / Special Prize Pierre Lanöe | Armand Fabre |
| 1st Prize Unanimous | Mickael Grigorian |
Children Category (10 years or under - born after June 27, 2014)
| 1st Unanimous Prize with Congratulations from the Jury | Anna Busheeva |
| 1st Unanimous Prize / Special Prize Pierre Lanöe | Hermance Liu |
| 1st Unanimous Prize | Yun Long Li |
| 1st Unanimous Prize | Yisong Xu |
Young Talent Category (12 years or under - born after June 29, 2012)
| Winner / 1st Prize | Alexandros Giannakos | Greece |
| 1st Unanimous Prize / Special Prize "Les Nocturnes du Piano" | Mizuki Sato | Japan |
| 1st Prize / Special Prize Pierre Lanöe | Shana Qian | China |
| 1st Prize | Xuanhe Zhang | China |
Junior Category (15 years or under - born after July 1, 2009)
| 1st Prize | Mahault Ska | Belgium |
| 2nd Prize | Patrizio Giordano | Italy |
| Anna Plotkina | Germany | |
| Special Prize “Les Nocturnes du Piano” | Yifan Wang | China |
Young Artist Category (20 years or younger - born after July 2, 2004)
| 1st Prize / Chopin Prize | Emma Guercio | Italy |
| 2nd Prize | Piotr Konieczny | Poland |
| 3rd Prize | Antoine Lafont | France |
| Ruiqi Shi | China |
Artist Category (Under 35 years old - born after July 5, 1989)
| Grand Prix Samson François | Diana Cooper | France/UK |
| Special prize for the best interpretation of French music / Kawai Prize / Estivales du Département Prize | Momoko Kimura | Japan |
| Estivales Prize | Karina Tseng | USA |
| Special Prize “Les Nocturnes du Piano” | Francis Karpenskis | Latvia |
| Special Prize Recital Bernard Olivieri | Shiqin Huan | China |
| Prize of the City of Cagnes sur Mer | Zihao Nan | China |
Emma Guercio (1st Prize winner of Young Artist Category, center) and Kawai staff
Comments from 1st prize winner (Artist Category): Diana Cooper
I truly loved playing on this magnificent Shigeru Kawai SK-EX. I already knew the brand, having performed on it in Warsaw, Poland, but I must say — this was the most beautiful piano I’ve ever played.
About the Samson François International Piano Competition
This is a piano competition named after the famous French pianist Samson François. It was established to honor the artistic legacy of him. The purpose of this competition is to introduce the skills and talents of young pianists to the world. Applications are accepted from all over the world, attracting participants from many different nationalities. Candidates can enter and compete in several categories.
Official website: https://lesnocturnesdupiano.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.
Official website: https://www.shigerukawai.jp/en/