Chinese pianist Zijian Wei won the top prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Sunday. Wei won the contest performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in the finals, besting second-place finisher Evren Ozel and third-place finisher Maxim Lando, both from the United States.
In winning first place, Wei, 25, takes home $75,000 and recital commitments at Carnegie Hall and Tonhalle Zürich. In addition, he receives management services from Arabella Arts and will be recorded by Steinway.
Wei is already celebrated in China, where he won the top prize at the Huanglong Music Season Piano Competition, first prize at the Jianfa Gulangyu International Competition, and second prize at the Lang Lang Cup Piano Competition. Internationally, he was the third-place finisher at the Geneva International Music Competition in 2022.
The Cleveland International Piano Competition has been held in Cleveland, Ohio, every two years since 1975. Past winners include Jean-Yves Thibaudet (second place, 1979), Angela Hewitt (third place, 1979), and Nicholas Angelich (second place, 1989).
You can watch Wei’s complete first-prize-winning performance on YouTube:
