Second place and $15,000 was awarded to Takashi Yamamoto of Japan, for her performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Ukraine's Vadim Kholodenko won third place, performing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He received $10,000. Fourth place and $8,000 went to Hinrich Alpers of Germany, who played Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, according to the paper.

The competition is judged differently than most international events; instead of being eliminated after just 20 minutes of performance, competitors play three rounds for a total of 90 minutes.

Gina Bachauer was a Greek pianist who died in 1976; the competition, held every four years, was established the same year. She performed frequently with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and was a friend of Maurice Abravanel, its longtime music director.