Held every three years in Paris, the Long-Thibaud International Competition alternates between piano and violin editions, offering a total prize pool exceeding €80,000.
In the 2025 piano edition, 17-year-old South Korean pianist Saehyun Kim secured the prestigious €35,000 first prize with his outstanding performance of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3, Op. 30, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Republican Guard under the baton of Bastien Stil.
As part of his victory, Kim will have the honor of performing at the “Concert de Paris” on July 14, 2025, in front of a massive audience of 400,000 spectators. Currently, he is pursuing a dual degree program, earning a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard College and a Master of Music at the New England Conservatory.
Notably, no second prize was awarded this year. The third prize of €12,000 went to Hyo Lee from South Korea.
Fourth place was jointly awarded to Masaharu Kambara from Japan and Tiankun Ma from China, each receiving €8,000. The fifth prize of €6,000 was claimed by Canadian pianist Eric Guo.
In addition to the monetary awards, the winners will have the opportunity to perform at renowned festivals, including Opéra de Monte Carlo, Piano à Aix-en-Provence, Gstaad New Year Music Festival, Association Chopin de Lyon, Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles, and more.
The 2025 piano jury featured an esteemed panel, including Mikhail Rudy, François-René Duchable, Tania Heidsieck, Hélène Mercier, Marina Bower, János Balazs, Pavel Gililov, Ewa Pobłocka, Marc Laforet, and Dominik Winterling.
“Our warmest congratulations to the laureates, and heartfelt thanks to all the candidates for the exceptional quality of their performances and their deep artistic commitment,” the competition organizers expressed in a Facebook post.
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