NTD International Piano Competition Showcases the Glory of Classical Music

(Minghui.org) The 7th NTD International Piano Competition (NIPC) was held at the Kaufman Music Center in New York City from October 14 through October 19, 2024. Pianists from Europe, Asia, and North America gathered with a united calling to revive the glory of classical music. Ten made it to the semi-finals, and five advanced as finalists.

The International Piano Competition is part of a series of international cultural and arts events sponsored by NTD Television Network. The mission of this competition is to promote traditional arts of pure authenticity, pure goodness, and pure beauty. NTD has hosted piano competitions since 2008, attracting talented artists from around the world.

In addition to piano pieces from the Baroque, Classical, or Romantic periods, the competition features a special commissioned piece, rearranged from a vocal piece composed by the Artistic Director of Shen Yun Performing Arts, D. F. This year’s commissioned piece, “Holy Grace,” is classical Chinese music for the piano. Semifinalists had the chance to compete for the “Best Rendition Award of the Commissioned Composition.”

A winners’ concert was held before the awards were announced on October 19. The concert featured performances by this year’s finalists, as well as special performances by Vladimir Petrov, the Gold Award winner of NTD’s 2019 International Piano Competition, and renowned pianists Kiron Atom Tellian, Arseniy Gusev, and Asiya Korepanova.

Award winners and award presenters on the stage of Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in New York City

Gold Award Winner

Gold award winner Robert Neumann (right) from Germany

Robert Neumann performs in the Winner’s Concert of NTD’s Seventh International Piano Competition.

Robert Neumann from Germany won the Gold Award and Best Rendition Award of the Commissioned Composition. He was born into a musical family, and both of his parents are musicians.

He said that he enjoyed the Winner’s Concert. “There were beautiful performances among them... There were very interesting performances. Some of them really touched me,” he said.

Prior to the awards ceremony, he also shared about the commissioned piece “Holy Grace.” “[Holy Grace] closely connects nature and the perfect state of the human inner world,” he said.

Silver Award Winner

Silver award winner Shih-Yeh Lu from Taiwan performs in the Winner’s Concert.

Shih-Yeh Lu from Taiwan won the Silver Award and Best Rendition Award of the Commissioned Composition.

Mr. Lu began studying piano when he was 6 years old, and has studied it for about 20 years. Last year, he earned a Master’s degree from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Around the same time, he also completed service in the volunteer military in Taiwan.

Mr. Lu said after the finals, “I just feel that it’s important to reach my personal goals, without intentionally trying to compete with anyone. So of course, I’m very happy to make it to the finals. I get to perform all the pieces I prepared, and it makes all these months of preparation worthwhile.”

The first piece Lu presented in his final round was French piano master César Franck’s “Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.”

“In the end, it brings back all the elements and all the themes from the previous two sections, presenting everything together at once. It’s a very grand feeling. And compared to earlier fugues—although a fugue is a compositional technique—how to integrate personal emotions into this technique is something I think Franck excels at,” he said.

He also shared his biggest takeaway from participating in the international piano competition. “I think the biggest takeaway for me has been trying to understand the meaning of the stage and how to create a connection with the audience—how I can better express myself. This is the deepest insight I’ve gained throughout the competition,” Mr. Lu said.

Commissioned Composition

During each competition year since 2016, a unique new work—featuring a blend of Eastern and Western classical music—is commissioned and premiered. This year, contestants had eight weeks to prepare for the piece to perform during semi-finals.

Composer and pianist Qin Yuan from Shen Yun Performing Arts rearranged this year’s piece, “Holy Grace.” She said she was impressed with the performances.

“What I originally wanted to express was a sense of love and hope. The contestants truly brought us love and hope, and I can feel that,” she said. “At the same time, the name of this piece is ‘Holy Grace.’ What I hope for is that, whether in good times or bad, we can all hold on to a heart full of gratitude—showing appreciation to those around us and to the Creator for all that He has given us.”

She said after the semifinals, “The contestants gave me a great surprise, and I feel that I learned a lot... They come from different ethnic backgrounds and life experiences, each person’s understanding of music, insights into life, and artistic realm are different. Therefore, I saw a richness in their expressions of the piece today that far exceeded my imagination.”

Pianist Appreciates Competition

James Bassi is a pianist who usually works with other musicians. He was very impressed with the skills that the contestants displayed, especially in playing such a difficult repertoire.

“The demands of the solo repertoire, the skills, the mastery, and inspiration is a very special thing,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see the young talent.”

Piano music evolved rapidly after the 1900s, becoming impressionistic and eventually atonal. NTD’s competition aims to uphold the beautiful music from baroque, classical, and romantic eras.

“There is a certain level of mastery that comes into playing this repertoire,” he said. He said that hearing the music inspired him to improve, and that he was “inspired to go home and practice and acknowledge that there is such talent and beauty in the world.”

Bassi appreciated the fact that NTD’s competition is international because we can hear the different “voices” of each player.

He also expressed his gratitude to NTD for supporting traditional arts, especially because classical music doesn’t get much support in America.

“Thank you for producing the competition and supporting great musicians and great music,” he said.

“Most of the money in America goes to pop music,” he added.

Winners of NTD’s 7th International Piano Competition

Gold AwardRobert Neumann, Germany

Silver AwardShih-Yeh Lu, Taiwan

Bronze AwardTang Hsing Lien, Taiwan

Outstanding Performance AwardsChing-Yi Lin, TaiwanJean-Luc Therrien, Canada

Best Rendition Award of the Commissioned CompositionRobert Neumann, GermanyShih-Yeh Lu, Taiwan

Honorable Mention AwardKaren Yoshida, CanadaTakeshi Shimozato, JapanYun-Hsuan Shannon Chiang, TaiwanBoris Krivoshein, RussiaWei Wu, Taiwan