Chopin 2025: People love music irrespective of their origin - Vincent Ong
Vincent Ong has said that he is proud to be the first Malaysian finalist of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, adding that people love music no matter where they come from.
After his performance on Saturday, Vincent Ong said that he felt lucky to have got the opportunity to play in the final round of the competition.
"Of course, it matters that I am the first Malaysian (to reach the finals of the competition - PAP). But it does not matter in the sense that all people, irrespective of their origin, love music," he added.
He called playing one piece solo followed by a performance accompanied by an orchestra a "reversed encore". "Usually, after playing a whole concerto, the pianist performs one more piece solo for an encore. The orchestra remains on stage," the pianist said.
"But it was easier for me to start playing knowing that the orchestra and the conductor, Andrzej Boreyko, are beside me. It helped a lot, I knew I was not alone there," he said.
The final stage of this year's contest features, in alphabetical order, Piotr Alexewicz (Poland), Kevin Chen (Canada), David Khrikuli (Georgia), Shiori Kuwahara (Japan), Tianyou Li (China), Eric Lu (United States), Tianyao Lyu (China), Vincent Ong (Malaysia), Miyu Shindo (Japan), Zitong Wang (China) and William Yang (United States).
The final round concerts take place at the National Philharmonic, from Saturday to Monday. Each pianist performs Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat major, Op. 61 and one of the two piano concertos, either in E minor, Op. 11, or in F minor, Op. 21, accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Andrzej Boreyko.
The 19th edition of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, organised by Poland's Fryderyk Chopin Institute, runs from October 2 to October 23.
The Polish Press Agency is a media partner of the competition. (PAP)
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