Finalists Announced for the 2025 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition

The 2025 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition has announced the twelve finalists who will advance to the final round, held in Brussels, Belgium.

The selected pianists, listed in alphabetical order, are:

• Rachel Breen

• Valère Burnon

• Arthur Hinnewinkel

• Wataru Hisasue

• Mirabelle Kajenjeri

• Masaya Kamei

• Shiori Kuwahara

• Nikola Meeuwsen

• Nathalia Milstein

• Jiaxin Min

• Sergey Tanin

• Yuki Yoshimi

This year’s edition received 289 applications from pianists aged 18 to 31.

The final round will take place from Monday, 26 May to Saturday, 31 May, at the Brussels Center for Fine Arts. Each finalist will perform Kris Defoort’s commissioned work, Music for the Heart, as well as a concerto of their own choice. The performances will be accompanied by the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Kazushi Ono.

The competition offers generous prizes, with the First Prize winner receiving €25,000 and the Queen Mathilde Prize, along with invitations to perform in Asia and Brazil. The Second to Sixth Prizes are set at €20,000, €17,000, €12,500, €10,000, and €8,000 respectively. Semi-finalists who did not progress to the finals will each receive €1,000.

In addition to the cash prizes, all laureates will benefit from further performance opportunities. The six ranked laureates will perform with orchestra, while the six unranked laureates will give solo recitals. All twelve will also participate in a concert tour throughout Belgium.