Imposed work for the final

After the semi-final, the finalists of the instrumental sessions are hosted for one week at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, in particular to study without any outside help an unpublished concert piece. For the 2025 Piano Competition, this work has been composed by Kris Defoort. Music for the Heart will be unveiled at its world premiere on the first day of the final, on Monday 26 May, at 8.15pm at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts. It will be interpreted by the twelve finalists, with the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Kazushi Ono.


About the work:
Can life itself, the sometimes so intense reality of the now, be captured in music ? Kris Defoort does this with his piano concerto Music for the Heart. Memories, images, scents, encounters, but also inspiration from films, books, concerts - in short, the full richness of the arts - form the breeding ground for a well-wrought composition, beating like a vital, pounding heart that is at the same time oh so vulnerable.
Music for the Heart is a work that came about intuitively. Seeping in from nothingness, starting from silence, improvisation forms the very first seed. Playing with rhythmic timbres, meaning gradually appears, a musical core that Defoort deepens, analyses and allows to grow in endless variations day after day. Like a living, transforming organism, the music develops into a balanced composition - a piano concerto. From the heart of this concerto, a character speaks. The HEART, as the central musical motif, represents that which drives the blood in our mortal bodies, but also, on a more spiritual level, that which connects us to other hearts, other beings, the Earth itself.


The compulsory work was commissioned from Kris Defoort, made possible thanks to the generous support of Mr. Rudolf Schülgen.

With the support of Sabam, which encourages creation.

Imposed work for the semi-final

Ana Sokolović has written the imposed work for the semi-final of the 2025 Piano Competition. Two Studies for Piano, for piano solo, will be premiered on Monday 12 May at 3pm at Studio 4 in Flagey and will be performed by the 24 semi-finalists. The candidates have received the score of this work after the preselection.


Both works will be released on CD and on the main streaming platforms after this year's Competition.