Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko wins 21st Leeds International Piano Competition

On Saturday night, 24-year-old Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko won the 21st edition of the Leeds International Piano Competition. Performing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan at St George’s Hall in Bradford, Izik-Dzurko was chosen as the winner by the jury after a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No 2. 

Watch his winning performance: 

In addition to the £30,000 cash prize and the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal, Izik-Dzurko also receives a career-changing prize package which includes concerto engagements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Wigmore Hall debut and recitals across the UK, international tours with Steinway Prize Winner Concerts Network and Global Music Network, and more. 

Second Prize and the Marion Thorpe Silver Medal was awarded to Junyan Chen from China, followed by Khanh Nhi Luong from Vietnam who received Third Prize and the Lady Roslyn Lyons Bronze Medal. Both are awarded cash prizes (£18,000 and £12,000 respectively), as well as concert engagements with Wigmore Hall, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Lunchtime Concert Series on 23 & 24 September, University of Leeds concert series and more. 

Junyan Chen was also the winner of the inaugural Alexandra Dariescu Award, presented for an outstanding performance of a work by a woman composer. She receives a £3,000 cash prize, a concerto performance with the Romanian Radio Orchestra in Bucharest which will be broadcast on national radio, and a solo evening recital at Music in Lyddington. Chen was also presented with the Yaltah Menuhin Award for an outstanding performance of chamber music – she receives £3,000 and performance opportunities with the Leeds International Chamber Music Series and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Chamber Music Series. 

Fourth Prize was awarded to Kai-Min Chang (Taiwan), and Fifth Prize to Julian Trevelyan (United Kingdom). The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Award, awarded to the best communicator of contemporary music, was given to finalist Kai-Min Chang, who will now receive a commission of a brand-new work to perform at a future Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society series. 

The results were decided by an international, artist-led jury chaired by Dame Imogen Cooper; the other jurors were Adam Gatehouse, Eleanor Alberga, Ingrid Fliter, Mariam Batsashvili, Pavel Kolesnikov, Sa Chen, Till Fellner and Adrian Brendel.
The medici.tv Audience Prize – the only prize to be decided by the public – was awarded to semi-finalist Tomoharu Ushida (Japan). Selected by online public vote via medici.tv, Ushida will receive a future broadcast performance on the platform. 

Watch highlights from the finals, from Medici TV: 

© Frances Marshall