The Leeds International Piano Competition
Founded in 1963 by Dame Fanny Waterman, The Leeds International Piano Competition is one of the world’s foremost music competitions. Former prize-winners include Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Denis Kozhukhin, Lars Vogt, Mitsuko Uchida, Sunwook Kim and Boris Berezovsky.
Sharing the competition’s commitment to nurturing new talent and forging exceptional international careers, Askonas Holt has partnered with The Leeds since 2018, offering representation to one of the three prize-winners, alongside career guidance to the 24 pianists competing in the final rounds.
2021 saw Alim Beisembayev take the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal, as well as the Medici TV Audience Prize and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Award for Contemporary Music. Since joining the roster at Askonas Holt, Alim has made debuts at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall and the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, and has toured Europe and South Korea. He was named a BBC New Generation Artist 2023-25, and released his debut album on Warner Classics in 2022.
Askonas Holt is proud to continue our partnership with The Leeds, and looks forward to working with more prize-winners over the coming years, and launching a new career on the international stage.
Our partnership with Askonas Holt – one of the world’s most respected and forward-looking artists management companies –is potentially life-changing. In the six years we have been working together we have seen at close quarters the immense benefits this collaboration has brought to our winners, and to The Leeds as an organisation. Together we are helping to forge a vibrant future for some of the world’s most prodigiously gifted young pianists.
Adam Gatehouse, Leeds International Piano Competition