Finals of the competition

Sunday, July 9, 2023:

2 p.m. – start of the final
6 p.m. – Awards ceremony and winners' concert

Massena Room
2 Kennedy Blvd.
06800 Cagnes-sur-Mer

Free admission – Come and join us!

Click on the image to access it!

The 2023 Jury

from left to right: Olga Monakh (president of the jury), Bartłomiej Kominek, Nicolas Bringuier, Akiko Ebi,Markus Schirmer, Giuliano Adorno and Christine Gastaud (not pictured)

2nd edition of the Samson François International Competition – the final, the prize-giving and the winners' concert will be live and free of charge on Sigmart on Sunday, July 9, 2023!

Come and attend the final of the International competition which takes place on Sunday, July 9 at 2 p.m. at the Masséna Lounge at the Côte d'Azur racecourse.
This final will be followed at 6 p.m. by the prize-giving ceremony and the winners' concert.
Access is open to all and free of charge.

In order to share this privileged event with those who will not be able to be present in Cagnes-sur-mer and with as many people as possible both in France and around the world, we have decided to broadcast live the final of this prestigious competition.

To follow this broadcast, simply connect to the SigmArt digital platform which will broadcast this event exclusively, for free!
To do so, nothing could be simpler: click on the link below SigmartConcoursInternationalSamsonFrançois_final

As a reminder, the first edition of this International Competition in 2022 crowned Ryan Wang, a young and talented 14-year-old Canadian pianist, and introduced him to piano lovers! Thanks to our International Competition, he was able to perform at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on March 31st for a breathtaking recital in the presence of Bernard Arnault!

The 2023 finalists and their programs:

2 p.m. – KURODA Teppei, Japan (Born 13.12.1997)

  • J. S. Bach: Prelude and FugueI No. 22 in B-flat minor Book I BWV 867
  • F. Chopin: Fantasia in F minor Op. 49
  • C. W. Gluck (arr. G. Sgambati): Melody of Orpheus
  • J. Brahms: Variations on a Hungarian Theme Op. 21 No.2
  • Franck: Prelude, Choral and Fugue

3 p.m. – HA Gyutae, South Korea (Born 07.11.1996)

  • Chopin: Polonaise op.53 no.6
  • Prokofiev: 3rd Sonata
    Schumann: Carnaval op. 9

4 p.m. – DIORDIIEV Mykhailo, Ukraine (Born 10.07.2001)

  • Rachmaninov: Etude-Tableau op. 39-2
  • Chopin: Nocturne op. 48-1
  • Liszt: Great Etudes of Paganini, S.141, Etude No. 2
  • Chopin: 2nd Ballade op. 38
  • Liszt: After a reading of Dante: Fantasia quasi sonata

5 p.m. / 6 p.m. – Deliberation

6 p.m. – Announcement of the results and concert of the winners

The 2022 winners:

Our 2023 partners:

The International Piano Competition Trophy 

Samson François

Presentation and inspiration: The opportunity I was given to create a trophy for the Festival Les Nocturnes du Piano, which takes place in a place as prestigious as the Hippodrome de Cagnes-sur-Mer, is a great privilege for me. The piano has always fascinated me, both because of its range of sound and the eloquence of its volume. Horseback riding, on the other hand, is a fascinating sport that allows you to osmosis with a royal animal. The trophy made on this occasion is nothing more than the combination of the sounds of a piano under the experienced fingers of the pianist and the adrenaline rush that the experience of a horse race engenders. The musical notes fly away, the horses launch themselves on the race track, both do it to our delight...