Canadian Chopin Competition laureate Eric Guo was awarded the First Prize at the 2nd International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments on October 14, 2023 in Warsaw Poland. The prize includes a cash award of €25,000 and a concert tour of Europe and Asia.
The International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute was first held in September 2018. As part of the Institute’s mission to “bring back the authentic sound of the music” composed by Chopin, the competition serves to build an awareness of distinctive features that are unique to performances on historic instruments. Competitors select pianos from the Chopin Institute’s collection of 19th century instruments, including Erard, Pleyel and Broadwood.
Mr. Guo was the only Canadian amongst 35 competitors from 14 countries. The pianists were assessed by an international jury of distinguished musicians specializing in historically informed performance including Tobias Koch, Ewa Pobłocka, Andreas Staier, and Wojciech Switala,. After solo recitals in the first and second stages of the competition, six finalists performed Chopin’s Concerto in E Minor, op. 1, accompanied by Václav Luks conducting the {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna.
Guo, who also won the award for Best Mazurka performance at this competition, was the Second Prize winner of the Fifth Canadian Chopin Piano Competition in 2019. He is currently a student at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School and was recently named one of CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30.
Dr. Janet Lopinski, Artistic Director of the Canadian Chopin Society comments that “It has been a great pleasure to observe Eric’s artistic development over the years. His tremendous success at the International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments brings well-deserved recognition of his talent and dedication. Canadian pianists continue to make their mark on the world stage.”
The Canadian Chopin Society is a registered charity dedicated to promoting the legacy of Fryderyk Chopin while nurturing young artists.
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