After almost two weeks of intense competition and astonishing piano playing, the finalists for the Sydney International Piano Competition have been announced. Kenneth Broberg (USA), Moye Chen (China), Andrey Gugnin (Russia), Jianing Kong (China), Oxana Shevchenko (Kazakhstan) and Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev (Russia) have earned a place in the final round. The six finalists, whittled down from 32 initial competitors, will go on to perform two concertos each. One will be selected from the 18th century (every competitor this year has opted for a Mozart concerto) and one from the 19th or 20th centuries. They will each be accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House over the next week.

American Kenneth Broberg is up first in the final round, performing Mozart’s Concerto No 25 in C Major K.503 on Tuesday night. Aged just 23-years-old, Broberg studied at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston in Texas with Professor Nancy Weems and will be going on to study for a Masters degree in piano performance at the International Center for Music at Park University in Missouri next year. In the second round of the finals on Friday...