News
6th Sendai International Piano Competition: 2nd place prize winner Evan Wong selects Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano
American pianist Evan Wong has been awarded the 2nd prize in the piano category of the 6th Sendai International Music Competition (held in Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan from 11th~26th June), following a series of performances playing the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano.
6th Sendai International Music Competition (Piano Category): Final Result
1st Prize | KIM Hyun Jung | Korea | |
2nd Prize / Audience Prize | Evan WONG | America | Shigeru Kawai SK-EX |
3rd Prize | KITABATA Yoshito | Japan | |
4th Prize / Audience Prize | Xiaoyu LIU | Canada | |
5th Prize / Audience Prize | SHIN Changyong | Korea | |
6th Prize | SAKAMOTO Aya | Japan |
1st Prize
KIM Hyun Jung (Korea)
2nd Prize / Audience Prize
Evan WONG (America)
Shigeru Kawai SK-EX
3rd Prize
KITABATA Yoshito (Japan)
4th Prize / Audience Prize
Xiaoyu LIU (Canada)
5th Prize / Audience Prize
SHIN Changyong (Korea)
6th Prize
SAKAMOTO Aya (Japan)
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 2nd competition held in 2003 selecting Kawai. At the 4th competition held in 2010, Marianna Prjevalskaya was awarded the 3rd prize, while at the 4th edition held in 2013, Katada Airi was awarded the 5th prize, with both pianists selecting the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano for their prize-winning performances.
At this year’s 6th 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 2nd 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 400th 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.