Yamaha Dominates Hamamatsu International Piano Competition

The finalists of the seventh Hamamatsu International Competition.

BUENA PARK, Calif.— Yamaha Pianos dominated the 7th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (HIPC), held late last year in Japan. The Competition's youngest finalist ever, 15 year old Korean pianist Cho Seong-Jin stunned both audience and the jury with his sophisticated approach to the repertoire, his impeccable technique, and his warm and natural musicianship.

Notably, there was a large concentration of Korean pianists in the top tiers of the competition. Of the 12 semi-finalists, 6 were Korean, and four of the six finalists were Korean - three of these had the same teacher, Choong Mo Kang of the Korean National University of the Arts.

Of the eight prize winners at the 2009 HIPC, seven elected to play Yamaha. Virtually all the 13 members of the jury complimented the exceptional Yamaha piano used in the competition.

Of 8 prize winners, all but the second prize winner played Yamaha. These included:

1st & Set Piece Prize - Cho Seong-Jin; 2nd & Audience Prize - Elmar Gasanov; 3rd Prize - Huh Jae-Weon - 4th Prize - Francois Dumont; 5th Prize - Kim Hyun-Jung; 6th Prize - Ann Soo-Jung; Commissioned Piece Prize - Alessandro Taverna (also winner of the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition;) and Special Merit - Yuhi Okazaki.

The Seventh HIPC also saw several milestones, including the youngest competitor ever accepted to the competition, 13 year old Tami Lin of Canada, as well as the youngest finalist ever, Cho Seong Jin, went on to win top prize.