Shuguang Gong MM’23 has been selected to perform in the Preliminary Round of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, considered to be “the most important musical event in Poland and one of the most important competitions in the world.” Gong is one of “171 artists from 28 countries from a record number of 642 applications” who will perform in the Chamber Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poland for the Preliminaries from April 23 to May 4, 2025.

Gong’s May 4 recital is available to view on the Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel.

“I’m honored to participate in the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition,” Gong said. “This opportunity allows me to share my favorite music with a wider audience, and I am looking forward to growing both artistically and personally through this experience. I would like to thank all my friends from Madison for their support!”

The Chopin Competition is one of the oldest music events of its kind in the world. The competition was initiated in 1927 and has been held every five years since 1955, and is one of the few competitions devoted entirely to the works of a single composer. 

The qualification process for the October competition proceeds in two stages. For the first stage, pianists send in audio-video recordings of their performances of selected works by Chopin. These recordings are assessed by the Qualifying Committee, which selects approximately 160 pianists to take part in the Preliminaries. The jury then selects 80 pianists to take part in the October 2025 competition. Competition auditions will be held in public, in three stages and a final, with 40 participants admitted to Stage II, 20 participants to Stage III, and no more than 10 pianists to the final.