Chopin Competition Winner

The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw is possibly the only competition in the world whose winners become classical music stars practically overnight. Triumph in the Polish capital launched the careers of Maurizio Pollini (1960), Martha Argerich (1965), Garrick Ohlsson (1970), Krystian Zimerman (1975), Yulianna Avdeeva (2010) and Seong-Jin Cho (2015). These artists have all performed at the Prague Spring, many of them in their Czech debut immediately after their victory. In 2026 they will be joined by the winner of the final round held on 20 October 2025, American pianist Eric Lu. We can look forward to his Prague Spring recital in the Rudolfinum on 22 May.

Eric Lu was already a huge hit at the Chopin competition ten years ago when, at a mere seventeen years of age, he astonished the entire audience with his performance in the final round. In 2018 he won the Leeds International Piano Competition, which gave rise not only to an exclusive contract with prominent label Warner Classics, but also to his collaboration with leading world orchestras and concert venues. He has appeared with the Boston, Chicago and London Symphonies, also with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and the Oslo Philharmonic, and he has given his debuts at the BBC Proms, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Wigmore Hall, Elbe Philharmonie, Seoul Arts Center and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. “Going by the buzz in the hallways at intermission, I’m not the only one who would love to hear him play more of anything,” wrote The Boston Globe after his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lu has worked with Riccardo Muti, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Thomas Dausgaard, and he has also encountered Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil on the concert platform. In 2021 he received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, awarded to America’s most talented young artists, and from 2019 to 2022 he was part of the BBC’s New Generation Artists programme. He studied with Robert McDonald and Jonathan Biss at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His mentors include Mitsuko Uchida, Imogen Cooper and Dang Thai Son. He currently divides his time between Berlin and Boston.

The first year of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition was held in 1927. The winner was Russian pianist Lev Oborin, who performed at the first edition of the Prague Spring in 1946. The exceptional nature of the Chopin competition is highlighted by the fact that it only takes place every five years. Since the end of the Second World War the event has been held in years ending with a zero and a five, when virtually the entire music world waits in anticipation as young musicians from all corners of the globe battle it out for the top prize. This year Czech representative Eva Strejcová also got through the preliminary round in order to compete in Warsaw in 2025. The winner was selected by first-rate artists, among them French pianist Michel Beroff, winner of the 2010 Chopin competition Yulianna Avdeeva, Sa Chen and Chairman of the Jury Garrick Ohlsson.

Notable winners of the Chopin competition and their participation at the Prague Spring:
1927 Lev Oborin (1946, 1948, 1961)
1949 Bella Davidovich (1948, 1962, 1991)
1960 Maurizio Pollini (1969, 1982, 1989, 1992)
1965 Martha Argerich (1969, 1972, 1974, 2026)
1970 Garrick Ohlsson (1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021)
1975 Krystian Zimerman (1976, 1981)
2005 Rafał Blechacz (2012)
2010 Yulianna Avdeeva (2011)
2015 Seong-Jin Cho (2016, 2024)