Founded in 1986, the triennial International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht for pianists aged 17 to 29 has now concluded its 40th edition in the Netherlands. 

First prize with €25,000 went to Alexander Kashpurin, who was also awarded the €2,000 Audience Award. Second prize with €12,000 went to Thomas Kelly, and the €8,000 third prize was awarded to Kang Tae Kim. 

The finalists performed Liszt’s First or Second Piano Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Stéphane Denève. The final round of the competition is now available to watch here on The Violin Channel! 

As the Grand Prize winner, Kashpurin will be performing a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. 

The three laureates will also receive an extensive Career Development Program, involving professional coaching, website and press kit development, album recording opportunities, and continuing mentorship. 

Chaired by Cynthia Wilson, the international jury comprised Andrea Bonatta, Suzana Bartal, Mariam Batsashvili, Severin von Eckardstein, Janina Fialkowska, Saskia Giorgini, Pierre van der Westhuizen, and Yingdi Sun. 

The jury described Kashpurin as a pianist with “a completely unique view on everything he touches,” playing “as if he had written the music himself,” and that it was “moving to see someone so in love with the music.”

A graduate of St. Petersburg Music Lyceum and the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Alexander Kashpurin also studied at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium, in 2021-2022.

His accolades include prizes at the International Čiurlionis Piano Competition in Lithuania, Russian Music Piano Competition, and the ‘Les Étoiles Du Piano’ competition in France.

He also has degrees in conducting and leads his own orchestra, Infinitum, which is featured on his debut album "In Search of Eternity." He is currently the musical director Replica Theater.