Sibylle Barrasso

Kevin Ahfat, the 31-year old Canadian winner of the 2025 Fou Ts’ong Concerto Competition for a performance of Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand with the Mercury Orchestra, gave a recital spanning three centuries, from J. S. Bach to Alban Berg, in the Foundation of Chinese Performing Arts series on Monday at NEC’s Williams Hall. Ahfat was named one of CBC Music’s hot Canadian classical musicians under 30 in 2018; he is the two-time winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition.

Yutong Sun at reception. (Xiaopei Xu photo) Yutong Sun’s delivered a Herculean program in the Chinese Performing Arts concert series on Monday: Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Opus 109, 110 and 111. Williams Hall was packed, including the balcony, in tribute to the internationally acclaimed artist. Described by Gramophone as delivering “’world-class work,”’ at age 31 Sun has already appeared with countless orchestras on several continents.

From May 28-31, Cambridge will host the 13th Boston International Piano Competition at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden Street. From morning until evening, 42 extraordinary pianists — 21 men and 21 women from all over the world—will compete. The pianists will be playing on the newly redesigned Bösendorfer 280VC (“Vienna Concert”) grand piano, the flagship of the series, provided by Falcetti Pianos.