France’s Long-Thibaud Competition Names 2025 Piano Winners

First place was awarded to pianist Saehyun Kim, who received a €35,000 cash prize

Held triennially in Paris, the Long-Thibaud International Competition alternates between versions for violin and piano and offers a total prize pool of more than €80,000. 

The 2025 piano edition has awarded the €35,000 first prize to the 17-year-old South Korean pianist Saehyun Kim, who won with his rendition of Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3, Op. 30, with the Orchestra of the Republican Guard, conducted by Bastien Stil. 

As part of his win, Kim will be invited to perform at the “Concert de Paris” on July 14, 2025, in front of an audience of 400,000 people. Kim is currently completing a dual degree program, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard College and a Master of Music at the New England Conservatory.

While second place was not awarded, the third prize with €12,000, was awarded to Hyo Lee from South Korea.

Fourth place with €8,000 was jointly awarded to Masaharu Kambara of Japan and Tiankun Ma from China. The fifth prize of €6,000 went to the Canadian pianist, Eric Guo. 

To help launch their professional careers, the winners will also be invited to perform at festivals including the Opéra de Monte Carlo, Piano à Aix-en-Provence, Gstaad New Year Music Festival, Association Chopin de Lyon, Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles, and many more. 

The 2025 piano jury comprised Mikhail Rudy, François-René Duchable, Tania Heidsieck, Hélène Mercier, Marina Bower, János Balazs, Pavel Gililov, Ewa Pobłocka, Marc Laforet, and Dominik Winterling. 

“Our warmest congratulations to the laureates, and heartfelt thanks to all the candidates for the exceptional quality of their performances and their deep artistic commitment,” the competition posted on Facebook. 

The final round performances and awards presentation can be viewed below: