Pianist Hayato Sumino Wins The Leonard Bernstein Award

With over 1.5 million followers online, Sumino is also known as "Cateen"

Given by the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, in Germany, The Leonard Bernstein Award is endowed with 10,000 Euros and has been sponsored by the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe since 2002. This year's recipient is pianist Hayato Sumino.

Hayato Sumino will be presented with the Leonard Bernstein Award at the prizewinners' concert on July 18, 2025, in Lübeck. Together with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra (SHFO) under the direction of Holly Choe, he will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

"Leonard Bernstein is one of my musical heroes and I grew up with his works, recordings and words," Sumino said. "His creativity and humanity went beyond the music and left a legacy that I try to honour in my own way. I am deeply honoured to receive this important award, thank you!"

Based in New York, the Japanese pianist and composer, Hayato Sumino, has garnered over 1.5 million followers globally across his platforms with nearly 200 million views on YouTube under the name, 'Cateen.'

Adept in multiple genres, he combines classical piano repertoire with his own arrangements and compositions, along with jazz improvisation and pop elements.

Sumino began his music career following his success at the PTNA Piano Competition in 2018, winning the Grand Prix, then gained international attention in 2021 as a semi-finalist at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition. In 2023, Sumino was featured on Forbes Japan’s “30 under 30” list, recognising young entrepreneurs, leaders, and trailblazers.

"Hayato Sumino fulfils everything you could wish for in a young ambitious musician: he is courageous, curious, creative and incredibly talented - a more than worthy winner of the Leonard Bernstein Award. We congratulate him wholeheartedly!" says Oliver Stolz, President of the Savings Banks and Giro Association for Schleswig-Holstein.

This year's jury consisted of Jamie and Alexander Bernstein as well as Nina Bernstein Simmons, Christoph Eschenbach, Ute Fesquet, Per Hauber, Dr Christian Kuhnt, Barbara Lebitsch, Oliver Stolz. Christian Kuhnt, Barbara Lebitsch, and Oliver Stolz.

Previous winners include Lang Lang, Martin Grubinger, Alisa Weilerstein, Krzystof Urbánski, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Vivi Vassileva and most recently Anastasia Kobekina, among others.