A 19-year-old Japanese woman took the top prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, considered a springboard for young pianists to an international career, in western Switzerland on Friday.
Yumeka Nakagawa, a first-year student at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar in Germany, became the laureate of the 29th edition of the prestigious contest after playing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2.
She was among the three Asian candidates to reach the finals. The other finalists were 24-year-old Wataru Mashimo of Japan and 20-year-old Juhee Lim of South Korea.