Video Jie Chen performs Schubert's Sonata in G Major, D894 Jie Chen performs "Islamei" by Balakirev Jie Chen performs Scarlatti's Sonata in F Minor, K239 Jie Chen Performs Evocation and Triana fro "Iberia" by Albeniz MIDI Jie Chen performs "Poem for Piano" by Babajanian Jie Chen performs Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Opus 109 (1st Mov.) Jie Chen performs Chopin: Etude Opus 10, No. 8 Jie Chen performs Balakirev: "Islamei" Resources The International Piano-E-Competition Web site Yamaha Disklavier Mei-Ting Sun, competition winner of 2002 Respond to this story Talk about this story in the MPR News Forum Submit a commentary Help us cover this story

The six finalists: (clockwise from left top) Inesa Sinkevych, Israel; Tatiana Kolesova, Russia; Denis Evstioukhine, Russia; Yung Wook Yoo, South Korea; Hanna Shybayeva, Belarus; Jie Chen, China.

St. Paul, Minn. — Musical competitions have been around for centuries, some presented in a formal way, where a large number of players come together to be judged and to ultimately prevail with one on top of the heap; others, less formal, and more along the lines of duels, Mozart vs. Clementi, Vivaldi vs. Corelli, that kind of thing. There is the notion of competition for competition's sake, but music competitions are not necessarily like a version of the Super Bowl, or the World Series. It is the individual who is pushing his or herself forward, for the challenge, the educational experience and perhaps, most of all, for the opportunity to be heard on a wider stage.

The International Piano e-Competition is one-of-a-kind in many ways. It's the only international piano competition of this scale in Minnesota. It's the first competition that takes advantage of digital technology, providing a live performance though audio and video streaming, and post-performance MIDI files for use on home computers or for playing in Yamaha's Disklavier system. It's probably the first time that one can experience these young pianists live, new discoveries awaiting those who are ready to listen. Minnesota Public Radio is recording all of the concerts for the opportunity it gives our listeners to hear the latest in "digital" technology—the awesome, finger-busting, virtuosity of people who live, eat and breathe music at the piano. It's an exciting event that has been spearheaded by Professor Alexander Braginsky at the University of Minnesota, who sought to create a new kind of piano competition, one that would be less subject to the prejudices and controversies that have dogged many other competitions.

The international jury includes Menahem Pressler, Dmitri Bashkirov, Ruth Laredo, Gyorgy Sandor, Sontraud Speidel, Dubravka Tomsic and Liqing Yang.