Top international piano competition to debut in Beijing

A young girl from China Conservatory of Music's middle school performs at the news conference. (Photo/provided to Chinaculture.org)

The first Beijing International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition For Children And Youth will kick off in July this year, according to the press conference held at the embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beijing on March 25.

As one of the top international art events for teenagers, the competition is to make its first splash in China and will be held in Beijing every two years afterwards. Following the same format as Poland's International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, and judged by top musicians and educators from around the world, the Beijing contest will be the only one of its kind in the country.

The competition is open to artists aged 12 to 26 and contest spots will be set in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and cities overseas. The preliminary selection will be from July to January 2016 and the finals are expected to be held in Beijing during the latter half of June 2016.

The competition will be divided into categories for children (aged 12-16) and youth (aged 17 to 26). The winners from each of the two groups will be eligible to directly participate in the Warsaw International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, the so-called "piano Olympics".

To promote contemporary Chinese music, a special "Chinese work prize" will be set and Chinese piano compositions will be played in the competition.