TWELVE piano contestants aged 16 to 28 emerged from the preliminary round of the first Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition last week at the Shenzhen Grand Theater. Today the 12, selected from the original 40, advance to the semifinals.

The contestants - five from China, three from South Korea, two from Ukraine, one from Romania, and one from Russia - will compete over the next two days in the semifinals. The final round is Friday and Saturday. The competition closes Saturday evening with performances by the winners at the Shenzhen Grand Theater.

Playing in alphabetical order by last name, and starting with the letter B according to a lottery draw, the contestants played two solo pieces and one movement from a Mozart piano concerto accompanied by a string quintet from the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

From a field of 24 Chinese and 16 foreign contestants, seven of the semifinalists are from foreign countries. Of the five Chinese semifinalists, four are currently studying overseas, three in the United States and one in Germany.

"They not only brought high piano playing levels to the contest, but are taking the reputation of the concerto contest all over the world," said one local cultural critic.

Zuo Zhang, the only Shenzhen contestant, is on a full scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Zuo said she would try her best in the coming competition and would not let her hometown down. Dressed in a pink skirt, and playing works by Mozart, Chopin and Liszt with gentle yet bright touches on Saturday afternoon, the 18-year-old received the warmest applause from the audience.

"I felt a little pressured as this is the first time I attended an international contest in my hometown. I was nervous at the beginning and my control over the music was not satisfactory. But my overall performance was good," Zuo said.

Zuo was accompanied by her parents, her younger sister, and the mother of Li Yundi, one of China's outstanding young pianists.

Park Jong-hai, who just qualified, celebrating his 16th birthday a week ago, said it was the first time he had attended an international competition. Before the opening round Park said, "I will try my best today, but I am not really very confident. "On hearing that the South Korean teen had made it into the semifinals, tears came to the eyes of his host mother.

Following the preliminary round, Zhou Guangren, chairwoman of the jury, who chaired the jury of the first three China International Piano Competitions in Beijing, said, "We are excited to discover some quite talented young pianists through the contest. "Zhou added that playing with the quintet was a valuable experience in itself for each player.

Gustav Alink, co-founder of Alink-Argerich Foundation, an information and service center for musicians and competitions based in the Netherlands, said he had attended 300 competitions and was doing long-term research on music competitions. Alink said compared with other contests, the organization of the Shenzhen international contest was excellent.

"The organizing committee has thought of every detail. The jury, contestants, and guests are all well taken care of. We have a very clear schedule and very smooth communication. It is exceptional in the music world," he said.

Alink said he was now focusing his interest on several outstanding contestants, and would like to see some future cooperation in music with the contestants.

Those who did not make it past the first round still value the experience. Seven contestants from Central Conservatory of Music in China were eliminated. Chen Chen, 24, is one of them. Accompanied by his mother to Shenzhen, Chen said the contest was fair and rare.

"Jurors evaluated contestants' performance with a ¡®yes' or ¡®no'vote, and contestants were ranked according to their ¡®yes' votes. This is much fairer than giving points. How can one compare contestants with a gap of a few points?" he said.