Quebec pianist finishes second in prestigious competition

Charles Richard-Hamelin (Photo by Antoine Santo via Richard-Hamelin’s website)

WARSAW, Poland – Quebec pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin has captured second place at the prestigious 17th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland.

First place went to Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea while American Kate Liu was third.

During three weeks of the competition, the pianists played only Chopin’s works before a 17-member international jury.

In its 88-year history, the Chopin competition has earned a reputation as one of the world’s top piano events, opening international careers to young pianists.

Richard-Hamelin, who won the 2011 Prix d’Europe, recently won the second prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition and came in third for the best performance of a Beethoven sonata at the Seoul International Music Competition in South Korea.

As a soloist, he has performed with symphony orchestras in Montreal and Toronto and at major festivals in Canada.

Richard-Hamelin, who released a CD featuring works by Chopin in September, studied at McGill University in Montreal before earning a master’s degree at the Yale School of Music in 2013.

Both he and Seong-Jin Cho won the equivalent of about $36,000. The first prize includes concerts in some of the world’s best-known halls and contracts for recordings. – With files from The Associated Press