By LIANG TAO, CRI Correspondent

Two young Hong Kong boys have won top prizes in a prestigious piano competition in Germany.

Ten-year-old Aristo Sham Ching-tao came first and 13-year-old Wong Wai-yin third in Category A of the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists. Aristo also won the special Barenreiter Urtext Prize.

Aristo follows in the footsteps of world-renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang, who won the first prize in Category A in 1994 at the age of 12.

Aristo said he only rated his performance at 85 out of 100. He said he went into the competition only trying to learn.

The renowned competition has been held in Ettlingen once every two years since 1988 and is divided into Category A (up to 15 years) and Category B (up to 20 years).

There were 255 entries from 45 nations in this year's competition, which ran from August 6.

In March, Aristo and Wai-yin won top prizes in the finals of the Third Asian Youth Music Competition. Wai-yin won in the under-20 group, while Aristo took first prize in the Mozart Sonata Class.

Aristo started playing when he was three and Wai-yin four. Both study at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Aristo also plays the violin, recorder and flute.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping praised the young pianists, saying in addition to their talent for music, proper training provided by parents and teachers and efforts made by the two young pianists all contributed to the success.