IPOH: Vincent Ong, the first Malaysian to make it to the final round of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, has finished in fifth place at the end of its 19th edition.
The 24-year-old was jointly awarded the position with Poland’s Piotr Alexewicz after the final auditions in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday (Oct 20).
The United States’ Eric Lu came in first, followed by Canada’s Kevin Chen and Zitong Wang of China.
Shiori Kuwahara of Japan and China‘s Tianyao Lyu finished joint fourth.
Ong surpassed hundreds of competitors from 54 countries and was among 11 pianists selected for the final round.
The competition, organised by Poland’s Fryderyk Chopin Institute, is known as one of the oldest music events of its kind in the world.
The competition, held once every five years since 1927, can be followed on social media, including the Chopin Institute’s Facebook account as well as Weibo, Instagram, TikTok and X.
