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 filled Bechstein Music World’s Event Hall after winnowing 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 will take place in Xiamen, China, from mid-September through October 2025.
Grand Final prizes reflect both prestige and a practical career lift. The top award combines RMB 10,000 (approximately $1,400 USD) and SGD 30,000 (roughly $23,300 USD), a trophy and certificate, an awards-ceremony performance, and a Winner’s Concert at Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore, plus a professional support program offering airfare to compete in major WFIMC-member benchmark competitions within two years.
Second and third prizes include parallel recognition and professional support. Teachers of winners receive Outstanding/Excellent Awards certificates, underscoring education’s central role in the pipeline.
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(Central Conservatory of Music; President, Piano Society of the Chinese Musicians Association) 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
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
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
