The audience of more than 1300 in the Concert Hall, where the second stage took place, enjoyed the performances of these distinguished contestants.

13 contestants including 4 Russian and 4 Japanese were announced on November 17th, the last day of the second stage.

Including 4 Japanese contestants, David FRAY (FRANCE), Rafal BLECHACZ (POLAND), Anton SALNIKOV (RUSSIA), Victoria KORTCHINSKAYA (CANADA), Roman DESCHARMES (FRANCE), Valentina IGOSHINA (RUSSIA), Tatian KOLESOVA (RUSSIA), Sergei SALOV (UKRAINE) and Alexander KOBRIN (RUSSIA) will perform on the third stage.

"The performance level is very high," says the committee. After all the performances for the second stage, the chairperson of the jury, Hiroko Nakamura announced, in the Concert Hall lobby, the names of the 13 contestants who passed the second stage. She said, "We'd like to thank all the contestants for their great performance. They were so competitive that it was really hard to make decisions."

The third stage will be held in the concert hall at 1:00 p.m. on November 18 and 19.
Contestants are required to perform no longer than 60 minutes, consisting of pieces selected freely by the contestants. No pieces performed in the first stage nor the second stage may be included in the performance. Besides the quality of technique, the contestants are required to have certain sense. 6 contestants for the Final Stage will be nominated on November 19.

The chairperson of the jury, Hiroko Nakamura said, "The outcome was very close. All the contestants could be the finalists of any international competition." It means that they are very competitive and their level is very high. She also said, "The contestants must make their program on their own for the third stage. It requires a good sense of performance."

The jury, Toshi Ichiyanagi, a composer of a repertoire "Piano Poem for Piano" joined the press meeting and said, "The level of the performance has improved. I made this work to see what the contestants can show their sense of music and feelings using my work. I enjoyed listening to 25 contestants between age 16-28 showing their nation characters." He also said, "I am looking forward to the third stage very much."

In addition, the jury, ROUVIER admired their performance. He said, "When they played ICHIYANAGI work, I felt Japanese contestants had changed their style of performance. They now show not only their skills but their feeling. They can make their program freely, so I'd like them to do their best "

SUZUKI Hironao who went through to the third stage said, "I'd like to do my best to show SUZUKI color. I like KOBRIN very much, and it is my great pleasure to play on the same stage with him."

SEIKIMOTO Shohei who also went through to the third stage said, "As I had a big confidence in my performance on the second stage, I'm very happy that I could get a good result. I chose the works that I practiced a lot for the third stage, so I hope I could perform well."

SUDO Rina, the youngest contestant for the third stage said, "I cannot think of anything right now. I'll just go for it."

OKAMOTO Moko, just finished her performance only a few hours before the announcement said, "I'm really happy to pass to the stage. I'd like to be more relaxed. I'm sure the applause of the audience will encourage me."

Comments of contestants
13 Gregory DE TURCK
I really enjoyed myself performing in a nice hall with support of the audience. This is my first experience to take part in such a big international competition. I don't know how the result comes, but I choose my favorite works to make the audience happy.

66 Sergei SALOV
I could enjoy my performance with a good piano, a good hall and nice audience. I am satisfied with my performance as I tried hard this time. ICHIYANAGI's piece "Piano Poem for Piano" interests me because it is influenced by Eastern music as well as Western music. If I have a chance to have the recital, I'd like to play ICHIYANAGI's pieces again.

77 SUDO Risa
I feel more relaxed than the first stage. Especially because I think I did good job performing.
My favorite pieces, Mendelssohn, Piano Poem for Piano by ICHIYANAGI have good combination with the atmosphere of the hall. I tried to play the piano like reading a poem. One week has passed, and I have learned a lot here.

35 Alexander KOBRIN
I did not choose difficult pieces intentionally for the second stage. Rather, I wanted to perform an etude that is deeper than ordinal etudes. Ichiyanagi's piece provides various impressions, not a simple fixed one, so I truly think it is a good piece.
I think the level of this competition is very high and it's a very good experience for me to listen to other contestants' performance.

86 YAJIMA Aiko
I feel a little tired at the moment. I'm very satisfied with this organization, which has helped me a lot. As I could express my imagination in the repertoires, I felt like I was having my own recital. I thought that ICHIYANAGI's work has quiet and beautiful melody. I always try to play the piano like singing. I'd like to show my own performance as ever.