Who Is Kyohei Sorita? The Pianist Who Broke a 50-Year Chopin Competition Drought

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When Kyohei Sorita won second prize at the 2021 Chopin Competition, it wasn't just a career milestone — it ended a 50-year wait for Japanese classical music.

Training in Moscow and Warsaw

After winning the piano division of the Japan Music Competition in 2012, Sorita studied at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory starting in 2014, then moved to the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in 2017 to study under Piotr Paleczny — training directly within traditions closely tied to Chopin's own repertoire.

A 50-Year Wait, Ended

At the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition, Sorita won second prize ex aequo (tied) with Alexander Gadjiev — the highest result by a Japanese-born pianist at the competition since Mitsuko Uchida's second prize in 1970, more than 50 years earlier.

Pianist and Conductor

Beyond performing, Sorita has also worked as a conductor, expanding his career beyond solo piano performance in the years following his Chopin Competition result.

What To Know

Sorita's 2021 result ended a genuine drought — five decades between Japan's last top-tier Chopin result and his own — one of the more historically significant results for Japanese classical music.

Sorita's path through both the Moscow Conservatory and the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw reflects a common trajectory for top competitive pianists — training directly within the performance traditions most closely tied to the repertoire they'll be judged on, in this case Chopin specifically.

Easy Japanese

反田恭平は、2021年のショパン国際ピアノコンクールで2位を獲得したピアニストです。日本人としては約50年ぶりの快挙でした。