The 2026 Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition concluded on Sunday, 1 March 2026. The winner of the second edition of this triennial Slovenian competition is the Italian pianist Alberto Ferro. Below are the full results:
1st Prize / Ljubljana City Award: Alberto Ferro (F)
2nd Prize / Triglav Insurance Award: Youl Sun (F)
3rd Prize / Ljubljana Festival Award: Zhiquan Wang (S)
4th Prize: Jonathan Mak (F)
5th Prize: Elia Cecino (F)
6th Prize: Heeseong Noh (F)
Additional special diplomas were awarded for outstanding performances:
Best Performance of a Classical Sonata:
Heeseong Noh: Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Best Performance of a Romantic Work:
Jonathan Mak: Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5
Best Performance of a 20th Century Work:
Zhiquan Wang: Maurice Ravel: La Valse, M. 72
Youl Sun: Igor Stravinsky: Trois mouvements de Petrouchka
Best Performance of a 21st Century Work:
Kiryl Bartashevich: Unsuk Chin: Étude No. 2, « Sequenzen »
Best Performance of a Work by Fryderyk Chopin:
Matteo Bortolazzi: Fryderyk Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op. 28
The Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition proved to be a remarkable success for the Fazioli brand. Of the 29 candidates who entered, 17 chose to perform on the Fazioli F278. Among the twelve pianists admitted to the second round, nine selected Fazioli, and five of them advanced to the final stage.
This achievement is the result of the commitment and collaboration across the Fazioli network.
We extend our warmest congratulations to all the competitors at the Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition, and we wish to express our sincere thanks to the entire team at Benton Pianos for their dedication and support throughout the event.