Occurring every two years, the National Piano & Violin Competition 2023 (NPVC) made its anticipated return with its 14th edition from 25 November to 3 December. It aimed to discover the next troupe of young pianists and violinists and provide them the opportunity to showcase their performing skills.
Following the previous restricted format in 2021 due to the pandemic, this year's edition was presented in full, featuring the NPVC Orchestra and conductor Joshua Tan performing with the selected finalists.
Nurturing musical excellence remains an integral part of our mission at the SSG. We are thrilled that the 14th edition of the NPVC has uncovered the next generation of musicians in Singapore and provided them with the stage to shine.
From its registration held between May to July, the NPVC received over 200 applications, before 97 entrants were shortlisted. They later competed in solo piano and violin performances across four categories before a diverse panel of world-class musicians, comprising Christopher Park, Marianna Shirinyan, Noriko Ogawa for piano, and Erik Heide, Kevin Lin, and Yu-Chien (Benny) Tseng for violin.
Supported by the National Arts Council, the biennial competition culminated with the Prize Winners’ Concert & Prize Presentation Ceremony on the last evening of 3 December.
Amongst the 24 winners are Chua Suen Ern in the Violin Junior category, the youngest First Prize Winner of the competition at 10 years old, and twin brothers First Prize Winner Zou Meng and Second Prize Winner Zou Zhang in the Violin Artist category. In the Senior category, First Prize Winners Adrian Tang (Piano) and Low Peng Guan (Violin) performed the set pieces Life and Death by young Singaporean composer Terrence Wong at the concluding concert, earning praise by The Straits Times.
The future of our classical music scene is bright with the discovery of these rising musicians at this year’s NPVC. Witness their prowess for yourselves by watching the finals and prize-winners' concert on Singapore Symphony’s YouTube channel here.