I wanted to share with you all the outstanding achievement of Zoe Cheng. 

Recently Zoe travelled to Germany after being selected to compete in an international piano competition. Not only did she compete, but she was the youngest and only Australian to make the final. Below is an account written by Zoe about her experience and I have also included the you tube clips and time stamps if you have time to watch her outstanding performance.

I asked Zoe to write a report to share with the community to help understand this outstanding achievement and this is what she wrote:

Robert Schumann Competition

The Robert Schumann Competition was held in Düsseldorf, Germany, and featured three age categories. I participated in Group A, which was for children born after 17 February, 2011.

This was an international competition, meaning young pianists from all over the world came to compete. I was both excited and nervous, as it was a major event and a huge challenge just to qualify.

The competition had four rounds, starting with a video audition. About 50 pianists applied, and only 22 were selected for the first live round—I was thrilled to be one of them! For my first-round performance, I played J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 4, Cécile Chaminade’s Étude Scolastique, and Schumann’s Bunte Blätter No. 1. The piano was incredible, and I felt great on stage.

Advancing to the second round was beyond my expectations. Only 10 participants moved forward, and I performed Schumann’s Blumenstück, Bortkiewicz, and Schumann’s Fabel—all Romantic pieces, which allowed me to relax and enjoy playing. At the awards ceremony, everyone who reached the second round received a diploma. As they prepared to announce the finalists, my heart was racing. Only three pianists would advance to the third and final round, where we would perform with an orchestra.

To my amazement, I was among the final three! For my concerto performance, I played Mozart’s Concerto KV414, Allegro. It was a challenging experience, as I had to maintain eye contact and stay in sync with the orchestra. In the end, I was thrilled to be awarded third place. I was also proud to be the only Australian to reach the final round in the entire competition.

I want to express my gratitude to Artarmon Public School for its outstanding music programs, which have helped me develop as a pianist and given me the opportunity to compete on the world stage.

To watch Zoe's second round. She is at 32:25. https://www.youtube.com/live/JBWramXweWg?si=beWHZLGAunjjDdlD

To watch Zoe's final perormance: She is at 18:00.  https://www.youtube.com/live/nqNH7EG9JwE?si=s9nk5jutL5qBBPfD