French pianist wins prestigious piano prize

French pianist Paul Lecocq won the prestigious 2025 Clara Haskil Prize, earning him 25,000 Swiss francs ($31,275) and a series of concert performances, organisers said Saturday.

Founded in 1963 and named after the pioneering Romanian pianist, the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition takes place every two years in Vevey in western Switzerland.

The 31st edition saw 26 young competitors whittled down through quarter-finals and semi-finals over the past week, with three pianists performing in Friday's final at Le Reflet Theatre.

The finalists were accompanied by the Zermatt Festival Orchestra, conducted by Gabor Takacs-Nagy.

The seven-member jury awarded the prize to Lecocq, ahead of Simon Haje from Germany and Seungho Chung from South Korea.

Lecocq played German composer Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor.

Lecocq, 20, studies at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and has performed with orchestras domestically and internationally.

The 2023 prize was won by Malaysian pianist Magdalene Ho.