Pianist Kangtae Kim Wins Third Prize at Liszt Utrecht Competition

The Kumho Young Talent pianist Kangtae Kim (29) has won third place at the 2026 Liszt Utrecht Piano Competition, the Kumho Cultural Foundation announced on January 25.

Kangtae Kim will receive a third-place prize of 8,000 euros (approximately 13.67 million won). In addition, along with the first and second prize winners, he will receive career support such as professional coaching and mentorship, the creation of a personal website, and opportunities for album recording. He will also perform with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Netherlands and participate in a winners’ tour, performing in countries including Norway, Italy, Hungary, and Belgium.

The Liszt Utrecht Piano Competition was established in 1986 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of composer Franz Liszt’s death, and this year marks its 40th anniversary. The competition changed its name from the “Franz Liszt International Piano Competition” and has used its current title since 2022. It is held every three years for young pianists aged 19 to 29. Notable past winners include Enrico Pace (first prize in 1989), Igor Roma (first prize in 1996), Jean Dub? (first prize in 2002), and Mariam Batsashvili (first prize in 2014). Previous Korean prizewinners include Kumho Young Talent alumnus Minsoo Hong (second prize in 2017) and Kumho Young Artist alumna Yeonmin Park (joint second prize in 2022).

The competition aims to highlight the music of composer Liszt and showcase the artistry of promising pianists, focusing more on a festival atmosphere than on rivalry. It offers participants numerous performance opportunities, as well as masterclasses and historical instrument workshops led by renowned musicians. Contestants perform on pianos from five different manufacturers. The repertoire centers on the works of Liszt, while each edition also spotlights another composer. The 2026 competition will additionally feature Carl Maria von Weber, an early Romantic composer admired by Liszt, who is being commemorated this year for the 240th anniversary of his birth and the 200th anniversary of his death.

Eight pianists advanced to the main competition through the preliminary round. From January 16 to 21, they each performed in six themed rounds: Opera Night, Piano Promenade, Weber Recital, Chamber Music Recital, Sonata Recital, and Liszt Story Recital. Kangtae Kim was among the three finalists, and on January 24, he performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by St?phane Den?ve, securing third place. First prize went to Aleksandr Kashpurin (Russia), and second prize to Thomas Kelly (United Kingdom).

Kangtae Kim made his debut at the Kumho Young Talent Concert in 2009 and appeared again on the same stage in 2012. He won second prize at the 2018 Takamatsu International Piano Competition and third prize at the 2019 Isang Yun International Music Competition. He also took first prize at the Beijing International Music Festival & Academy Concerto Competition, first prize at the Osaka International Music Competition, third prize at the International Maestro Piano Competition, and a special prize at the Valsesia Musica International Music Competition in Italy, among other international accolades. In Korea, he won first prize at the 2019 KBS·KEPCO Music Competition, the grand prize at the 2017 Suri Music Competition, and first prize at the 2016 Busan Music Competition. He was selected as a Young Artist at the Gyeonggi Arts Center and as a scholarship recipient of the Gangwon Talent Cultivation Foundation. Kangtae Kim studied under Yoonju Oh, completed the program at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, graduated from Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School, and earned his bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University under Heesung Joo. He completed his master’s degree under Markus Groh at the Berlin University of the Arts and is currently pursuing the highest performance diploma at the M?nster University of Music under the guidance of Arnulf von Arnim.