FInale Steinway Piano Competition Belgium 2026

On Sunday, March 22, family, friends and supporters gathered in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall of BOZAR (Brussels) for the finale of the biennial Steinway Piano Competition Belgium. We present the results per age category, but first some explanations. We will not go into each candidate individually, as this is not a Queen Elisabeth Competition of young (soon to be) professional pianists. In the third category there may well be candidates whom we will meet sooner or later at the QEC, but that is different from this competition. A comparison is impossible. The good thing about competitions like this is that healthy competition continues to trigger the experience of classical music. Airheads like the upstart Franco-American actor Timothée Chalamet who made the 'intelligent' statement that "art forms like opera and ballet are often only kept alive even though nobody cares about them anymore", their wrongness is constantly being proven, among other things by competitions like this. If only for that reason, it is good to keep this competition 'alive' so as to give such foolish statements no more chances. What did stand out, however, is that for these 11- to 18-year-olds, there is especially a focus on virtuosity. Speed, runs and the like seem almost more important than the musical lines. Too many details are in danger of being lost by playing against the clock. It may be slower, articulating more clearly, singing. Pedagogues must not get swept away in fashions that they have their students perform. Remaining as faithful as possible to the original score is the only correct message. This does not mean we did not hear beautiful performances. Some were very fine, others more energetic and yes, one stood head and shoulders above the rest and the jury chose him to later perform at the International Steinway Festival in Hamburg. We congratulate the finalists and all candidates who participated in this competition. They not only thumb their nose at that famous Chalamet, they especially commit themselves, with good cheer and motivation, to sacrifice much of their free time to make the music increasingly their own and to share it with the public. That deserves all recognition and support.

The results

• Category 1

first prize: Keshav Krishnan

second prize: Adelheid Keijzer

third prize: Noah Huang

• Category 2

first prize: Iris Keijzer

second prize: Sverre D'hooghe

third prize: Léo D'hose

• Category 3

first prize and Steinway overall prize: Raffaello Giannini

second prize: Mahault Ska

third prize: Van Eldik Ruben

• audience prize

Van Eldik Ruben