Selective competition in China for the First Rachmaninoff International Junior Piano Competition started at the Juchuan Business Hotel on the evening of April 6 as part of a series of activities for the third Tianjin Port Tourism Cultural Festival.

The event was co-hosted by the Rachmaninoff Junior Piano Competition Committee and the Musical Festival Committee, undertaken by the Art Performance Committee of the China-Japan-Korea Economic Development Association and Tianjin Zhanghua Cultural Dissemination Co, Ltd. Tianjin Port Culture and Media Co, Ltd was one of the assistant organizers.

Lance Wiseman, the famous pianist and chairman of the Competition Committee, played the piano at the opening ceremony. Over 100 youngsters from around the country will engage in competition under the instruction of world-renowned pianists within the next seven days, and top competitors among them may qualify for the next round in America.

The International Rachmaninoff Competition is one of the world’s most important competitions for pianists. Authorized by the Rachmaninoff Junior Piano Competition Committee and the Musical Festival Committee, the Rachmaninoff International Junior Piano Competition came for the first time to China to provide young Chinese pianists with access to an international stage. The Rachmaninoff Junior Piano Competition Committee has signed with China a ten-year authorization agreement, and Tianjin will organize an international piano competition in Binhai New Area for the first time. Tianjin has been approved to undertake the event for the first five years.