The Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko has won the prestigious 21st edition of the Leeds International Piano Competition. He joins a list of former winners across the competition’s four-decade history which includes Alim Beisembayev, Eric Lu, Federico Colli, Alessio Bax, Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu.

He also won the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal, a £30,000 cash prize and a package which includes concerto engagements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Wigmore Hall debut, UK recitals and international tours with Steinway Prize Winner Concerts Network and Global Music Network. Izik-Dzurko performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan at St George’s Hall in Bradford and was chosen as the winner by the jury after a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2.

The international, artist-led jury was chaired by Dame Imogen Cooper and included Adam Gatehouse, Eleanor Alberga, Ingrid Fliter, Mariam Batasashvili, Pavel Kolesnikov, Sa Chen, Till Fellner and Adrian Brendel.

Dame Imogen said: ‘Our aim was to find not just the finest pianist, but the most complete musician, and with Jaeden we have achieved that. He demonstrated exceptional artistic maturity and imagination, remarkable technical command, and a profound ability to captivate and transport the audience through his storytelling and poetry throughout the Competition, culminating in a truly unforgettable final performance.’

Second prize and the Marion Thorpe Silver Medal was awarded to Junyan Chen, from China, followed by Khanh Nhi Luong from Vietnam receiving Third Prize and the Lady Roslyn Lyons Bronze Medal. Both awards include cash prizes of £18,000 and £12,000 respectively, and concert engagements with Wigmore Hall, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Lunchtime Concert Series and the University of Leeds concert series.

Junyan Chen also received the inaugural Alexandra Dariescu Award, presented for an outstanding performance of a work by a woman composer, and the Yaltah Menuhin Award for an outstanding performance of Chamber Music. Both awards included a £3,000 cash prize and performance opportunities such as a concerto performance with the Romanian Radio Orchestra which will be broadcast on national radio, a solo evening recital at Music in Lyddington, and performances with the Leeds International Chamber Music Series and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Chamber Music Series.

Fourth Prize was awarded to Kai-Min Chang from Taiwan and Fifth Prize went to Julian Trevelyan from the United Kingdom. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Award, awarded to the best communicator of contemporary music was given to finalist Kai-Min Chang. Chang will now receive a commission of a brand-new work to perform at a future RLPO series. Semi-finalist Tomoharu Ushisa, from Japan, was awarded the medici.tv Audience Prize – the only prize decided by the public. Selected by online public vote via medici.tv, Ushida’s prize includes a future broadcast performance on medici.tv.

The Finals were broadcast via The Leeds Media Hub and YouTube channel – presented by Petroc Trelawny and Alexandra Dariescu – plus medici.tv and Amadeus.tv. The Finals were also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 In Concert, presented by Andrew McGregor and Lucy Parham. Listeners can listen back via BBC Sounds and there will also be a 120-minute programme showcasing the highlights of the Finals and previous rounds on BBC Four later this Autumn. A live EP with a selection of works from the winner’s performance will be released on Warner Classics on Friday October 11, with a studio recording to follow.