Vietnam won a number of high prizes at the third Hanoi International Piano Competition, which wrapped up in Hanoi on September 11.

Nguyen Dang Quang, the 17-year-old son of Vietnamese diva Thanh Lam and composer Quoc Trung, has pulled off a "hat trick" at the the third Ha Noi International Piano Competition.

This was announced at the competition, which ended in the capital city on Friday night.

The teenager, who is a student at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM), first won the "B" category for competitors aged 14-17.

In addition, Quang was also declared Best Vietnamese Pianist for Concerto. He also bagged a special prize granted by the competition's honorary chairman and art director, pianist Dang Thai Son. Son was the first Asian to win a gold medal at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1980.

Another VNAM student, Ngo Phuong Vy, also won the title of Best Classical Pianist.

The second and third prizes in B category were taken by Ukrainian Kostenko Mariya and Vietnamese Nguyen Ba Duy Anh, respectively.

The A category, which is for those aged 18-25, was dominated by foreign competitors.

First prize went to South Korean Yeon Min-park. Second and third places went to Nakamura Yui and Inagawa Mizuho from Japan.

In the C category for pianists aged 10-13, Vietnamese Nguyen Lan Anh and Singaporean Alyssa Kok received the top prizes.

Second place prizes were granted to Pham Le Phuong and Tran Minh Chau, while third place went to Nguyen Ba Tan, and Truong Thi Ngan Ha.

Head of the Judge Tran Thu Ha hailed the successes Vietnamese contestants have made at the competition, saying that this year’s event saw more talented competitors than previous years.

The week-long competition (Sept. 4-11), with world-renowned artist Dang Thai Son being its Honourary President, brought together 55 contestants from nine countries and territories including Vietnam, China, Taiwan (China), Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Ukraine, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

It was co-organised by the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and the Chopin Association in Vietnam for contestants aged between 10-25.

The event was first held in 2010 with the participation of 60 contestants from 10 countries and territories. It aims to discover and nurture young classical music talents.

VNA