A Young Belarusian Pianist Playing on SK-EX Wins the 2nd Prize at The 3rd Takamatsu International Piano Competition

The 3rd Takamatsu International Piano Competition was held at Takamatsu city which is located in central Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan from March 12th to 23rd, 2014. 5 pianists out of 33 contestants were selected as the finalists after the three preliminary rounds. Andrei Shychko, a Belarusian promising pianist, played on SK-EX for all his performances from the preliminary rounds to the final and won the 2nd prize. Interested in the story of Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev, a Russian distinguished maestro, who restarted his career as a pianist, triggered by the exceptional quality of Shigeru Kawai grand piano, Andrei Shychko tried SK-EX by himself and decided to use it for this time.

Andrei Shychko, the 2nd prize winner, performing on SK-EX at the 3rd Takamatsu International Piano Competition

Takamatsu International Piano Competition started in 2006 and is held once every four years, purposing to nurture the music culture, to deliver the world-class music from Takamatsu city to the world, and to make cultural international exchange. The competition is the thirdly founded international piano competition in Japan, following the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (from 1991), and Sendai International Music Competition.
Kawai Piano has been used as the official piano since the 1st competition in 2006. At the 1st competition, Chih-Long Hu, a Taiwanese pianist who played on Kawai Piano, won the 5th prize. The 4th competition is expected to be held in 2018.

Andrei Shychko was born on October 13, 1994 in Bobruisk, Belarus. He started to study music at age of 7 and is studying at Belarusian State Academy of
Music under prof. Natallia Tashchylina. He has received Grand Prize of the 7th International Competition for Young Pianists in St. Petersburg in 2009 and the Grand Prize for the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus in 2010.