This Week in Piano: October 17 to 23, 2026
First prizes in Tbilisi and Vercelli, bigger prizes in Sydney, and a farewell to Şahan Arzruni.
Two competition wins, bigger prizes in Sydney, and the loss of pianist Şahan Arzruni.
Sydney doubles its first prize. The Sydney International Piano Competition has raised all of its prizes for its 50th anniversary edition in July 2027, with first prize going from $50,000 to $100,000. Video applications close on 15 December 2026. Source: Sydney International Piano Competition on Instagram
Taige Wang wins in Tbilisi. Wang, of the United States, won first prize and US$20,000 at the Eighth Tbilisi International Piano Competition in Georgia, with Jiarui Cheng second and Donghwi Kang third. Source: Tbilisi International Piano Competition
Curtis Phill Hsu wins the Viotti. The 22-year-old took first prize in the piano section of the 76th Viotti International Music Competition in Vercelli, Italy, after playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in the final on October 17. Source: Prima Vercelli
Şahan Arzruni dies at 83. The Istanbul-born pianist and musicologist, who moved to New York in 1964 to study at Juilliard and devoted much of his work to Armenian music, died at his home in New York City on October 21. Source: Armenian Prelacy
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