Queen Elisabeth Competition

Everything you need to know about the first round

The first round of the Piano Competition takes place from Monday 5 until Saturday 10 May. Sixty pianists participate in the first round. They will perform at Studio 4 of Flagey, at 3pm and 8pm. On Saturday evening, the proclamation of the 24 semi-finalists will take place around midnight. The proclamation will not be streamed live due to the technical preparations for the broadcast of the semi-final.

Meet the candidates Schedule & programme More about Piano 2025

Who performs on Saturday 10 May?

At 3pm: Denis Linnik, Hehuan Yu, Yiheng Wang, Masaya Kamei & Yali Zaken. At 8pm: Wataru Hisasue, Hao Tian, Jinhyung Park, Changyong Shin & Jaeyoung Lee.

Schedule & programme Schedule (pdf)

Live streaming of the Piano Competition

Thanks to the RTBF and the VRT you can watch the candidates' performances live and on demand on our website.

Watch live and on demand

Follow the Piano Competition live as from the first round

Those of you who cannot attend the candidates' performances at Flagey or Bozar do not have to miss a single note of the Piano Competition. All the competition rounds will be broadcast live or on demand; on the internet, on the radio or on television.

Read more Piano 2025 broadcasts (pdf)

The jury members of the 2025 Piano edition

The candidates selected for the 2025 Piano Competition will benefit from the attentive listening of a large audience, but also of a group of internationally renowned pianists and music professionals who form the jury.

Discover the jury members

Unedited imposed works for the 2025 Piano Competition

For each instrumental session, the Queen Elisabeth Competition calls on two composers to create the unpublished compulsory works. This year, Ana Sokolović has written the semi-final work for piano solo, and Kris Defoort the work for piano and orchestra to be performed in the final.

More about the imposed works

Booking information for the 2025 Piano Competition

The ticket and subscription prices for the upcoming Piano Competition are available on our website. Book your subscription as from Tuesday 4 February 2025 or your tickets as from Tuesday 18 February 2025 and come and admire the thrilling performances of the young pianists live from the cosy seats of Flagey and the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts!

Don't miss a thing of the 2025 Piano Competition!

Would you like to keep up to date with the latest news of the Queen Elisabeth Competition? Then check out our social media.

Semi-final

From Monday 12 to Saturday 17 May (3pm & 8pm) - Studio 4, Flagey

At each session, four different semi-finalists are scheduled. The first two play a Mozart concerto. They are accompanied by the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, conducted by Vahan Mardirossian. After the break, the other two pianists perform their recital.

Last tickets

Final

From Monday 26 to Saturday 31 May (8.15pm) - Brussels Centre for Fine Arts

Each finalist performs the imposed work, written specially for the final of this session (world première on Monday 26 May 2025), and a concerto of their own choice, with the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Kazushi Ono.

Last tickets

Laureates' recitals

Wednesday 4 & Thursday 5 June (8.15pm) - Studio 4, Flagey

The six unranked laureates return to Flagey to conclude their participation in the Competition with a recital. Each night, three laureates will perform solo or together.

Tickets

Laureates' concert

Monday 9 June (8.15pm) - Brussels Centre for Fine Arts

The laureates ranked fourth, fifth and sixth present themselves one more time in the Henry Leboeuf Hall, together with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, directed by Martijn Dendievel.

Tickets

Closing concert

Wednesday 11 June (8.15pm) - Brussels Centre for Fine Arts

The first three laureates festively close this piano session in a performance with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, directed by Christoph Altstaedt.

Last tickets

Every donation counts

The Queen Elisabeth Competition is a non-profit association which depends on the generosity of donors in order to achieve its objectives and to help its laureates to develop their international careers. Your support is even more essential after the last few difficult years for the cultural sector.

I want to give

Rules of the 2026 Cello Competition

The rules of the 2026 Cello Competition contain all the information about the requested repertoire, the entry conditions and the competition rounds.

Read more Read the rules (pdf)

Three instruments and voice take center stage at the Queen Elisabeth Competition

Since 1937, the Queen Elisabeth Competition has been a springboard to an international career for classically trained musicians of the highest level. It all started with the violin and the piano, in 1988 the voice session followed successfully and in 2017 the first cello edition became a major feature of the international competition landscape from its very first edition. The four different competitions are organised in a four-year cycle. In 2025 it will be the piano's turn again.

Piano 2025 Cello 2026 Voice 2027 Violin 2028

Live Stream 2025 - First round

I want to support the Competition

Thanks to the Belgian national broadcasters RTBF & VRT, the Queen Elisabeth Competition can stream its three public rounds live and on demand. We stream via the Auvio platform. If you have not yet used Auvio, you will first see a 'cookies consent' screen before the video starts.

FIRST ROUND
From Monday 5 to Saturday 10 May [15:00 & 20:00] Studio 4, Flagey - Brussels
The candidates prepare the first movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven, a work of choice and four études (one by Chopin, one by Liszt, one by Ligeti and an étude of choice, written by another composer than Chopin, Liszt or Ligeti). The jury chooses which works each candidate has to perform, the candidate being informed one hour before going on stage. The presenter announces the order in which the works are performed.

Programme of Saturday 10 May [15:00]
Denis Linnik
JOSEPH HAYDN Moderato (Sonata in F major Hob. XVI:23)
FRANZ LISZT Spanish Rhapsody
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Etude in B minor op. 25/10
FRANZ LISZT Etude d'exécution transcendante n. 12 "Chasse-neige"
GYÖRGY LIGETI Etude n. 13 "L'escalier du diable"
FELIX BLUMENFELD Etude for the Left-Hand op. 36

Hehuan Yu
JOSEPH HAYDN Moderato (Sonata in C minor Hob. XVI:20)
ALEKSANDR SKRYABIN Sonata n. 4 in F sharp major op. 30
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Etude in A flat major op. 10/10
FRANZ LISZT Etude d'exécution transcendante n. 12 "Chasse-neige"
GYÖRGY LIGETI Etude n. 8 "Fém"
SERGEY RACHMANINOV Etude-tableau in E flat major op. 33/7

Yiheng Wang
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Allegro vivace (Sonata n. 16 in G major op. 31/1)
ISAAC ALBENIZ Lavapiès
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Etude in A minor op. 25/4
FRANZ LISZT Etude d'exécution transcendante n. 5 "Feux follets"
GYÖRGY LIGETI Etude n. 4 "Fanfares"
SERGEY PROKOFIEV Etude in D minor op. 2/1

Masaya Kamei
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Andante (Sonata n. 13 in E flat major op. 27/1)
MILY BALAKIREV Islamey
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Etude in A minor op. 25/11
FRANZ LISZT Etude d'exécution transcendante n. 12 "Chasse-neige"
GYÖRGY LIGETI Etude n. 9 "Vertige"
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN Etude in E flat minor op. 39/7

Yali Zaken
JOSEPH HAYDN Allegro moderato (Sonata in B minor Hob. XVI:32)
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Ballade n. 4 in F minor op. 52
FRYDERYK CHOPIN Etude in C sharp minor op. 10/4
FRANZ LISZT Etude de concert S 144/2 "La leggierezza"
GYÖRGY LIGETI Etude n. 6 "Automne à Varsovie"
ALEKSANDR SKRYABIN Etude in D sharp minor op. 8/12

Do you want to extend the Piano Competition experience? Discover the special offer of the "Piano 2025" CD box set in our webshop.

Stay up-to-date about the Queen Elisabeth Competition on Instagram and our Facebook page, or subscribe to the Queen Elisabeth Competition newsletter.

This site uses cookies to provide you with the best experience possible.
By clicking on « ACCEPT » or continuing to browse the site, you accept the use of cookies on your web browser. For more information about our cookie policy and the different types of cookies used, click on Learn more