Yekwon Sunwoo wins gold at the Sendai Competition using Yamaha CFX Concert Grand

24 year old Korean Yekwon Sunwoo won the gold medal at the recent Sendai International Piano Competition playing on a Yamaha CFX. The silver medalist, 23 year old HyungMin Suh, also Korean, selected the CFX as well.

In fact, Yamaha was the most popular piano choice for the six finalists  as 4th prize winner SunA Park also chose the CFX; the remaining three finalists used pianos by two other manufacturers (a choice of Yamaha, Steinway, Kawai, and Bösendorfer was offered). This is the first time  a Yamaha piano was used by the winner in Sendai and having both of the top prize winners play it for all stages of the event was a testament to the CFX’s musical quality and versatility.

This year’s piano division was held from June 16th until the Gala Concert on June 30th. An initial round of solo recitals by 37 contestants was followed by Mozart and early Beethoven concertos from the 12 semi-finalists. And then the 6 finalists were chosen to perform major romantic concertos accompanied by the Sendai Philharmonic.

We congratulate these talented young pianists on their great achievement.

The Sendai International Music Competition began in 2001 commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Sendai City. Held every three years, it contains both violin and piano divisions. The goals are to boost the careers of young musicians, while at the same time promoting classical music, and creating an international cultural exchange. This year  was the 5th competition, and the first to be held following the  devastation to much of Sendai caused by the tsunami of 2011. A number of local volunteers play important roles in the competition such as supporting contestants, hall management and publicity.