Triumph & Trajectory: The 2025 Pearl River Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition

Now in its 42nd year, the Pearl River Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition continues to foster young musical talent worldwide with a new format, a distinguished advisory council, and hundreds of regional stages culminating in the International Grand Final in Xiamen, China.

A global pipeline for rising talent

The competition’s footprint is extensive, with over 200 domestic and international sub-competition zones, and its impact is cumulative, with more than one million contestants participating on a Kayserburg stage throughout its history. That scale is intentional: discover, encourage, and elevate outstanding musical talent while fostering international exchange through music.

Preliminaries for 2025 began in March, spanning multiple countries and regions to select finalists for the autumn finale in China.

What’s new in 2025

Organizers describe this year’s format as “breaking boundaries,” featuring a prestigious jury, more in-depth artistic guidance, and richer experiences for participants, creating an intentional evolution to expand the stage and focus the spotlight.

Categories span four main groupings (Student, Duet/Ensemble, College, and Open), subdivided into 10 divisions. Rounds include Preliminary, Semi-final, and Grand Final (two rounds for College and Open). Together, the structure creates a fair ladder for ages and levels, while repertoire breadth tests musicianship, technique, and expression across periods and styles.

Repertoire requirements at the international Grand Final emphasize range and depth: an etude from a choice of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, or Ligeti, a Classical-era sonata movement (Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven/Schubert), and additional free-choice works which are memorized and from contrasting composers.

Regional Spotlights:

Singapore:  On August 16, the Singapore Regional Finals winnowed an initial pool of 400+ entrants down to 100 finalists. The event crowned category winners and named Student Category Top Prize winner Pan Jiarong Oscar to represent Singapore at the International Grand Finals in Xiamen.

Vietnam: Vietnam’s finals culminated with an awards ceremony in Nha Trang, performed on the critically acclaimed Kayserburg GH275Z, underscoring Pearl River’s commitment to providing high-caliber instruments at every level of the pathway.

The road to Xiamen

After regional events, selected winners proceed to a Preliminary Grand Final (online), with results slated by late August. The International Grand Final took place in Xiamen, China, from October 5^th to 9^th 2025.

Artistic leadership

The competition’s advisory and organizing leadership includes distinguished figures across China’s conservatories and performance circles—among them Ye Xiaogang, Liu Shikun, and Shi Shucheng as Artistic Advisors, with Wu Ying serving among the Organizing Committee Directors alongside Wei Danwen and Li Jianning.

In many regions, the competition is paired with masterclasses and concerts by noted artists and educators, providing young pianists with close contact with role models and expanding the cultural impact of each event beyond the stage.

About Pearl River

Founded in 1956, Pearl River Piano Group is the world’s largest piano manufacturer by annual production and global market share, producing instruments under the Pearl River, Ritmüller, and Kayserburg brands; an industrial backbone that enables the company to support a competition of this size and significance.

Winners of the 2025 International Grand Final in Xiamen

Young Children Division

First Prize: Qi Tianyang

Second Prize: Lin Ye, Huang Yinuo

Third Prize: Sha Zhixuan, Zhong Kaize, Zhang Jinchen

Children Division I

First Prize: Xiao Yuchen

Second Prize: Li Siyunyi, Lian Xirui

Third Prize: Zhou Siqi, Jiang Hanyi, Fang zixin

Children Division II

First Prize: Li Yongjun

Second Prize: Yu Shuqi, Wang Yijin

Third Prize: Liu Chenyang, Gao Yihang, Zhang Haochen

Teenagers Division I

First Prize: Li Yunze

Second Prize: Nutdanai Nimitrungrot (Thailand), Cheng Wanxu

Third Prize: Chen Zihe, Jia Peini, Wang Yicheng

Teenagers Division II

First Prize: Tan Xincao

Second Prize: Zhao Langge, Liu Siyuan

Third Prize:Zhang Lingli, Zhang Zecheng, Qin Zige

Piano Duet Category

First Prize: Liu Xuanxi and Liu Zhanhao

Second Prize: Zhang Ziyan and Li Ziyi, Wang Chuqiao and Wang Qiaochu

Third Prize: Feng Bangyan and Feng Xiuying, Leiguo and Tang Daiyao, Zhou Beini and Li Yuxi

College Category

First Prize: Yao Zihan

Second Prize: He Yanni, Qin Weiqian

Third Prize: Liu Fanshuo, Gong Yukun, Li Kaixuan

Professional Teenagers Division

First Prize: Zheng Wenbo

Second Prize: Zhang Zhuoyan, Liu Yikun

Third Prize: Dai Xu, Zhang Xuanyue, Tao Jinzhe

Young Pianists Division

First Prize: Chen Zhilin

Second Prize: Chen Zhengwen, Tian Rong

Third Prize: Wang Zihan, Hu Sihan, Ma Yubo