Hear it live: Đặng Thái Sơn (second right, first row) sits next to Dmitri Alexeev (first right) and Martha Argerich (3r right) and the jury at the ongoing 17th International Piano Competition in Warsaw.

WARSAW (VNS) — Chopin Competition Gold Medalist Đặng Thái Sơn was unanimously voted vice president of the jury at the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday.

This is People's Artist Đặng Thái Sơn's third time as a jury member and first time as vice president. He's taking part in a 17-strong jury panel at the competition, which runs from Saturday to October 23.

This year's jurors, who have also won the Chopin award, include Adam Harasiewicz, Martha Argerich, Garrick Ohlsson, Son and Yundi Li.

Thirty-five years ago, pianist Đặng Thái Sơn found himself excelling in the music world. He won first prize at the 10th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1980. He was also the first Asian pianist to win a top international competition.

The International Chopin Piano Competition started in 1927 and has been held every five years since 1955. It is one of the rare competitions dedicated exclusively to the works of a single composer.

The Chopin Competition has helped the world discover phenomenal pianists such as Maurizio Pollini, who won in 1960, and Martha Argerich of 1965.

This year 455 pianists from 45 countries applied – 100 more people than in 2010. Only 78 candidates from 20 countries were qualified to compete in the first round, and six prizes will be awarded at the end of the final round.

This year those who are interested can follow the auditions live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSTXol20Q01Uj-U5Yp3IqFg.

More details about the Chopin Competition can be found at http://chopincompetition2015.com. VNS