Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

American pianist Evan Wong has been awarded the 2^nd prize in the piano category of the 6^th Sendai International Music Competition (held in Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan from 11^th~26^th June), following a series of performances playing the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano.

6^th Sendai International Music Competition (Piano Category): Final Result

Kawai has provided instruments for official selection in the Sendai International Music Competition since the inaugural event was held in 2001, with four out of the six finalists in the 2^nd competition held in 2003 selecting Kawai.  At the 4^th competition held in 2010, Marianna Prjevalskaya was awarded the 3^rd prize, while at the 4^th edition held in 2013, Katada Airi was awarded the 5^th prize, with both pianists selecting the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano for their prize-winning performances.

At this year’s 6^th competition, 12 out of the 34 participants selected the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano.  Of those 12 contestants, 6 reached the semi-final round, with finalist Evan Wong awarded the 2^nd prize after selecting the SK-EX throughout the duration of the competition.  When asked about his decision to select the Shigeru Kawai piano, Mr Wong, who also received one of the competition’s Audience awards, remarked that “playing this piano arouses my creativity, allowing me to concentrate on the music.”

About the Sendai International Music Competition

The Sendai International Music Competition was established by the City of Sendai in 2001 to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of the city, and is held every three years.  The SIMC emphasises the importance of the concerto, with contestants performing with a full orchestra in both the semi-final and final rounds.  This year’s competition was particularly special, with an extended final round lasting three days, and each of the six finalists performing two pieces.

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.