Vietnamese pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung will perform at the 19th Chopin Competition this October. Photo courtesy of the artist

HÀ NỘI Vietnamese pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung is among 85 artists worldwide to have qualified for the 19th Chopin Competition that takes place in Warsaw from October 2-21.

Trung with a prestigious musical background is the only Vietnamese candidate on the list.

Trung, 29, was trained at the Bydgoszcz Music Academy in Poland and is one of the distinguished students of Vietnamese world-acclaimed pianist Đặng Thái Sơn who won the 10th Chopin Competition in 1980.

He has won numerous prestigious awards, including First Prize at the Emmy Alberg Competition in 2005 (Poland), First Prize at the Chopin Performance Competition, the Golden Note Award for outstanding young performers of Mozart in 2006 (Poland), and Second Prize at the International Chopin Competition for Young Talents (2010).

Earlier, Trung was the only candidate from Việt Nam listed among the 87 individuals advancing to the final round of 18th Chopin Competition, making him the second Vietnamese pianist reaching the finals of this esteemed competition after more than 40 years.

The preliminary rounds of the 19th Chopin Competition concluded on May 4 at the Warsaw Philharmonic after 12 days of daily auditions. The jury, chaired by Professor Piotr Paleczny, selected 66 pianists, who will return to Warsaw in less than five months for the competition.

Additionally, 19 candidates have been admitted directly to Stage I of the Competition without going through the preliminaries. These are laureates of selected piano competitions such as competitions in Leeds, Tel Aviv, Miami, Bolzano, Hamamatsu, the Paderewski International Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, as well as the Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition in Warsaw.

A record number of 642 pianists from around the world applied for the music competition held at the turn of 2024 and 2025. Out of them, 171 were admitted to the preliminary round based on submitted recordings. Ultimately, 162 contestants from 28 countries took part in the preliminaries.

The official inauguration of the 19th Chopin Competition is scheduled for October 2. The auditions will begin the following day and continue until October 20. The competition will culminate in an awards gala and a concert by the laureates, which will take place on 21 October at the Great Theatre—National Opera. The winner will receive a gold medal and a first prize of 60,000 euros (US$69,000).

After the Chopin Competition concludes, a months-long concert tour will begin, during which the laureates will perform in prestigious concert halls across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The tour will be organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in collaboration with the Liu Kotow agency.

Established and inaugurated in 1927, the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is one of the oldest music events of its kind in the world. It takes place every five years to commemorate and honour the Polish composer and piano virtuoso Frederic Chopin.

VNS