Melbourne-born SIPCA prizewinner scoops $25,000 with his latest win.

Daniel de Borah has won the Australian National Piano Award in Shepparton, with second place going to 21-year-old Nicholas Young and South Australian Michael Ierace coming third. De Borah receives $20,000 and an additional bursary of $5,000 for music career development.

At the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition, he took Third Prize and the award for Best Australian Pianist. But he says the biennial Australian National Piano Award, and other prizes open only to Australians like the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition in Brisbane, are more than just “good preparation for international competitions such as the Sydney International”.

“That is the accepted wisdom, but in fact the age limits of the ANPA (21-35) are higher than most international competitions and would suggest that they are looking for more experienced and rounded musicians.”

The Melbourne-born pianist, 31, studied at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, the St Petersburg State Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music. He has given recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre and performed as part of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville.

De Borah says he is delighted to finally compete in his home state. “As I was...