Starting with the recital of Chen Yunjie, a well-known pianist from the Central Conservatory of Music, the final of the 2018 Mendelssohn International Piano Competition in Asia Pacific got underway at the Sound of the Phoenix Grand Theater in Qingdao West Coast New Area on Aug 20.

Jointly organized by the Qingdao Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Qingdao Musicians Association and Germany Mendelssohn Piano Factory (Shanghai and Wuxi), the event, held in the Golden Beach Beer City, is seen as the centerpiece of the musical activities during this year's Qingdao International Beer Festival.

The city beat off 11 other cities to gain the opportunity to hold the competition.

The competition has been held every two years since 2008, intending to improve young people's professional qualities in piano and build an international platform for interaction and education.

This year, more than 5,000 competitors in China participated in preliminary rounds in 38 regions, with around 400 getting the chance to attend the final in Qingdao.

The competition has invited Li Mingqiang, a famous Chinese pianist and former vice president of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, to be the artistic director. Piano professors from Hanns Eisler Berlin Conservatory and major conservatories in China have been invited to be judges.

One grand piano and two upright pianos produced by Mendelssohn will be awarded to the top three, who will have a chance to be admitted to German national colleges of music with funds provided by the German Ministry of Education after further evaluations. Moreover, they will be invited to a special concert held in the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York in July 2019.

According to Yin Ying, director of the Piano Committee of Qingdao Musicians Association, besides its high standard, large size and professional judges, the competition is also held in high esteem compared with other piano competitions.

Held at the same time, the 2018 Qingdao International Piano Festival will provide local residents with numerous concerts, academic lectures and piano classes in the Little Mozart Music Hall and the Music College of Qingdao University.

Chen Yunjie, a well-known pianist from Central Conservatory of Music, holds a recital at the Sound of the Phoenix Grand Theater in Qingdao West Coast New Area on Aug 20. The recital signaled the start of the final of 2018 Mendelssohn International Piano Competition in Asia Pacific. [Photo/dzwww.com]

The Sound of the Phoenix Grand Theater in Qingdao West Coast New Area. [Photo by Xue Liangxuan/WeChat account: QDGJ-Beer]

Staff member prepare for the final of the 2018 Mendelssohn International Piano Competition in Asia Pacific at the Sound of the Phoenix Grand Theater in Qingdao West Coast New Area on Aug 20. [Photo by Zheng Liangguo/WeChat account: QDGJ-Beer]