A record number of overseas musicians competed with New Zealanders on Saturday for prizes of $30,000 in the Kerikeri International Piano Competition.
The four-day event - which began in an old fruit-packing house in 1987 - has grown in recent years to become a showcase for top young pianists from around the world.
Chair of the organising trust Sylvia Burch says the standard of playing is the highest in the history of the event.
She says 54 pianists from as far away as Russia, Canada and Latvia sent in recordings to be selected as one of the 16 entrants.
