Five distinguished young pianists from Europe are still standing as the two-day finals of Canada's Honens International Piano Competition get underway in Calgary Thursday.

Organizers started out with recitals in cities around the globe by 90 contenders, all under the age of 30. The best 21 continued on to the quarter finals, which began in Calgary on Oct. 22.

The pianists remaining are:

• Natacha Kudritskaya, 25, from Ukraine.
• Evgeny Starodubstev, 27, from Russia.
• Georgy Tchaidze, 21, from Russia.
• Gilles Vonsattel, 28, from Switzerland.
• Kirill Zwegintsov, 25, from Ukraine.

The finalists will perform Thursday and Friday evening at Calgary's EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, with Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini leading the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in performances with the five contenders.

The winning pianists — selected by a panel of established international musicians and past Honens laureates — will be announced following the end of performances on Friday.

Established in 1991 through a gift of $5 million from the late philanthropist Esther Honens, the namesake competition in her hometown seeks to celebrate and help shape the world's most promising young pianists.

The competition ultimately crowns three laureates (first, second and third place), who receive approximately $100,000 worth of cash and career development programs.

Originally held once every four years, the Honens switched to a three-year cycle in 2000.