1  
2020

ClaireHuangci
Camaraderie
at Paris
Play-Direct
AcademyPOWERED BYSTEINWAY CRAFTSMANSHIPPASSION AND LOVE TO DETAIL

eu.steinway.com

E D I T O R I A L

Camaraderie!
We are delighted to present the third edition of our magazine about the intricate and exciting world of pianocompetitions. No less delighted are we to witness that more and more of these institutions are evolving frombattlegrounds into festivals or trying to, where in a spirit of camaraderie (as Claire Huangci states in thismagazine) young artists can present themselves to the public and those who can help further their careers.
The competitive element will always remain but as Gerrit Glaner, head of C&A at Steinway, points out,
the moments when candidates help each other and forget about the rivalry, are to be cherished.
Similar to previous editions, we take a closer look at competitions from different perspectives, and we arevery pleased to do so with a team of international experts. We would like to express our gratitude to ourpartners: World Federation of International Music Competitions, European Union of Music Competitions
for Youth, Alink-Argerich Foundation and Piano Street. We wish all those involved in competitions thebest of luck and much joy in their work, and the young artists especially lots of success!
E R IC SCHOON E S

Henk Brüger sr., Founder / Owner PIANIST
His firm BCM publishes over 40 magazines, especially in equestrian sports (L’Année Hippique, Horse International etc.) andmusic (Luister, Jazzism, together with North Sea Jazz Festival).
Henk organized 18 international equestrian events
every year in Berlin, Frankfurt, Monaco, Paris, Brussels, and last but not least the Pavarotti International at the request of Pavarotti himself, who had
a great passion for horses. For 22 years Henk worked with the Spanische Hofreitschule in Vienna,
world famous for its combination of dressage andmusic. Henk Brüger founded the World Cup for
Dressage Kür on Music.

Eric Schoones, Editor-in-chief PIANIST
Trained as a pianist and musicologist, he has been writing aboutmusic for decades. Recently, he published Walking up theMountain Track – The Zen Way to Enlightened Musicianship,a book on the fascinating links between music
making and Zen Buddhism. He is active as a pianist
and lecturer, and is frequently invited as a jury
member to international piano competitions. At
present, he is engaged in writing his sixth book on
sustainability and the circular economy. In his program Sustainable Notes, together with jazz-singer
Sofie Dhondt, Eric explains the principles of thisnew economy through music.

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS
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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

3

THE WORLD OFPIANO COMPETITIONS
THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS
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orte

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7 GRIEG IN BERGEN

8 PARIS PLAY-DIRECT ACADEMYContents
		
Gustav Alink reports

30
34
38
41

Paderewski Competition, Bydgoszcz
Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition, Paris
Bartók World Competition, Budapest
The International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn		Interviews

8

Claire Huangci & Gerrit Glaner on		 Paris Play-Direct Academy

14
16
19
24
27
29

Gilles Ledure, Queen Elisabeth Competition
A conductor’s view: Gilbert Varga
A technician’s view: Peter Head, Maene Piano’s
Rob Hilberink, Liszt Competition Utrecht
A teacher’s view: Rena Shereshevskaya
A director’s view: Adam Gatehouse		

19 PIANO TECHNICIAN PETER HEAD

32 VIRTUAL REALITY IN WARSAW		In Profile

7 International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition

17
37
43
45
47
48

Bechstein-Bruckner Competition
Concours International Piano Val de Travers-Neuchâtel
ARD International Music Competition
Santa Cecilia International Competition
The International Schubert-Competition Dortmund
International Franz Schubert and		 Modern Music Competition
		
Behind the Scenes

20
23
32

Play it safe or commit to being personal?
Florian Riem, Interim Secretary General WFIMC
Virtual Reality at the Chopin Competition

Stay updated!
For upcoming application
deadlines etc. check:
Alink-Argerich Foundationwww.alink-argerich.org

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

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WELCOMEP A R T N E R SWORLD FEDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITIONSThe World Federation of International Music Competitions is dedicated to establishinga global network of internationally recognised organisations that discover the most promising young talents through public competition in the great tradition of classical music
and further their careers by presenting them before distinguished juries, general audiences,the media, and the rest of the music community. The WFIMC is a Member of the International Music Council and some 122 of the world’s leading music competitions belong
to the Federation. A number of important international music organisations are associate members of the WFIMC.

wfimc-fmcim.org

EUROPEAN UNION OF MUSIC COMPETITONS FOR YOUTHEMCY is a network of national and international music competitions for young people
across Europe. We believe that music competitions stimulate passionate musicianship.
For many, they’re a first glimpse of performing in public, playing in ensembles, or of
breaking out of orthodox repertoire. They foster a sense of healthy self-assessment, canhelp conquer nerves, and motivate practise. Young people can be inspired by experiencing fresh interpretations and discovering new works and other European cultures. We do
not think of competitions as the end of the learning process: for us, they are the beginning.

www.emcy.org

ALINK-ARGERICH FOUNDATION
An independent and objective Information and Service Centre for Musicians and Competitions, founded by Gustav Alink together with Martha Argerich. AAF supports musicians and competition organisers and gives them assistance and advice. AAF focuses
specifically on the International Piano Competitions worldwide. More than 190 international piano competitions and organisations are affiliated with AAF as AAF member
competitions. They are all included in the annual AAF catalogue. Gustav Alink and also
other AAF staff members frequently visit piano competitions, report on them and are
constantly available to provide assistance whenever needed to the organisers, jury
members and participants.

www.alink-argerich.org

PIANO STREET
PianoStreet.com operates worldwide from Stockholm in Sweden and was formed fromthe administrative base of Piano Forum, the world’s largest discussion forum on piano
playing on the Internet (more than 600 000 postings). The resource is Internet based andprovides a sheet music library, all pieces in the digital library are connected to recordingsin Naxos Music Library. There also are pedagogical materials. Members can also enjoy
e-books, autograph manuscripts, mobile sheet music, the Audio Visual Study Tool (AST),
a music dictionary, practice tips, etc. Piano Street has over 200 000 members worldwide.

www.pianostreet.com

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

COMPETITION PROFILE

The International Edvard Grieg Piano
Competition (IEGPC) is a biennial competition,
hosted by the Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugenin Bergen, Norway. With concert opportunities,
prize money, quality video recordings andvisibility, IEGPC aims to be an important
stepping stone for young professional pianists
on the verge of international careers.

International Edvard Grieg
Piano Competition
Three preliminary rounds are held in the Troldsalen concert hall,neighbouring Edvard Grieg’s original villa from 1885. Sitting at
the Steinway grand piano, one has a view over the lake and over
Grieg’s little red composer’s hut. This humble and historic atmosphere creates special moments between the performer, the piano
and the audience. We are excited to offer these experiences to
30 pianists from all over the world. And with a dedicated team tostream the competition online, we invite the world to Bergenbe-tween September 12 and 20, 2020.
The preliminaries have free admission, and the audience is invited
to take part in the daily Listeners’ Forum. The Final takes place in
the Grieg Hall with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Three
finalists will compete for a total of 62,000 euros in prize moneyand engagements.
Participants who are not admitted to the second or the third round,
are offered paid concert opportunities, and semi-finalists who are
not admitted to the finals, receive 1,500 euros. Special prizes are
given for a complete opus by Grieg, and the commissioned work
Notturno by Norwegian composer Ørjan Matre.

All jury votes are published in order to ensure the highest level oftransparency, and IEGPC practices strict rules regarding impartiality. IEGPC provides equal opportunity for all, and holds itself
to the highest standards of a modern musical competition.
IEGPC strives to be more than just a competition. Bergen is a citywith age-old musical traditions, and all activities are centredaround the openness and hospitality that the populace is rightly
famous for. The candidates stay with host families, and the competition week is filled with excursions, lectures, master classes andsocial events.
The competition has been a member of the Alink-ArgerichFoundation since 2004, and has also been a member of the World
Federation of International Music Competitions since 2017. The
competition is made possible by the generosity of the foundation
Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen.
Application deadline: April 20, 2020
Competition dates: September 12-20, 2020www.griegcompetition.com

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

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INTERVIEWAUNIQUE
CONCEPT
Paris Play-Direct Academy
Orchestre de Chambre de Paris & Steinway
More and more soloists are leading the orchestra from the piano,
but pianists are rarely equipped with even basic conducting skills.
Now the Paris Play-Direct Academy – a joint initiative of the Orchestrede Chambre de Paris and Steinway – are setting out to change thathaving given four young pianists a unique opportunity to work intenselywith an orchestra. Claire Huangci who won the first prize andGerrit Glaner, president of the jury, tell the story.

Claire Huangci: “In the end it was not really a competition. We
were only four candidates and there was a good feeling of camaraderie, it was more like a festival atmosphere and I learned somuch.
It was my first time conducting, but I use the word ‘conducting’very loosely. I have always enjoyed observing conductors when I
play concertos. I was fascinated by what they do and I wondered
how it felt. They make it look so easy, so natural. But when I faced
the orchestra myself for the first time, I realized just how big a responsibility I had. When playing a concerto, I know where all themain entries come in; I know when the solo clarinet has a theme,
and when you must have eye contact with the second violins, but
this is merely the tip of the iceberg compared to what a conductor
must do. A conductor has to inspire, and live in the moment and8

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

yet always has to think a split second ahead of the orchestra.
That first day, I was astonished at how much conducting goesbeyond knowing the score perfectly. Conducting is a way of communication and finding the balance between confidence and open
dialogue with an orchestra, finding an interpretation together.
There is a lot of compromising without speaking so much, whichmakes music the universal language. It’s something you cannot
learn without doing. This Academy was indispensable and withoutit, I might never have been able to realize my dream of leading an
orchestra.
Leading and playing with the Orchestra Chambre de Paris was
one of the most exhausting experiences! I think it was also oneof the most immersive music-making experiences that I have everhad. Not a split second goes by in the piece where you’re not 100 %WELCOME

Claire Huangci
began her international career at the tenderage of nine with concert performances andcompetitive successes. A student of Gary
Graffman and Arie Vardi, she won first prizes
at the Chopin Competitions in Darmstadt andMiami in 2009 and 2010. She also became theyoungest participant to receive second prizeat the International ARD Music Competition in
2011. In 2018, at the Geza Anda Competition,
she won first prize and Mozart prize. She isalso one of the pianists who will be performing
the Beethoven Liszt Symphonies in theupcoming Ruhr Piano Festival.

INTERVIEW

involved. About one week after Paris, I played the Clara Schumannpiano concerto, which is very physically demanding, yet it felt soeasy with the conductor taking that part of the responsibility.
I have always had very good experiences with conductors in competitions. They react so quickly, never was there the feeling we
didn’t have enough rehearsal time. They understand the high pressure atmosphere and try to support the candidates in the easiest
way possible.
Playing for the first time with orchestra in a competition can be
hard, but it can also be refreshing. For me, playing with an orchestra is an exhilarating experience: you get so much energy from theorchestra, just from the excitement of sharing a stage with so manymusicians. My first experience was when I was eight in America,and I remember thinking this is so much more fun than playing
alone!
I genuinely believe that being in competitions helps you gain confidence as a musician and gives you the ability to perform yourbest with extremely high stakes and to be judged by professionals.

There are a few very lucky people who go to competitions andalways win. But I learned defeat, and am thankful for thosemoments. The best lesson is when you learn humility, how to pickyourself up from being in a dark place and see the positive things
that come out of that experience. I’ve been to some of the biggest
competitions, and after preparing for six months to a year, it is avery big fall when you don’t make it to the finals. What you learn
from the aftermath, that is what helped me grow a great deal personally. I agree when people say you need to have nerves of steel
to compete. However, you also need to be human and open – thatis indispensable for making music.
There was a time when I hated competitions, but today, looking
back at them from a broader perspective, I feel only gratitude.
Taking part in competitions is never a pleasant experience, but bypulling yourself out of your comfort zone... great things can comeof it! Today, there are so many competitions and winners. It’s anissue on how to differentiate one from the other, but where there
is a will, there is a way!”

BERNARD TALGO

From left to right: Mario Häring, participant; Lars Vogt, Artistic Curator; Lydia Connolly, Harrison Parrott; (covered by Claire Huangi: Aglaja Thiesen, Mahler
Chamber Orchestra); Claire Huangci, participant; Christian Merlin, Le Figaro; Dinara Klinton, participant; Gerrit Glaner, Steinway & Sons; Théo Fouchenneretparticipant; Sebastien Surel, Concert Master; Emmanuel Hondré, Philharmonie de Paris; Rachel Cheung, PPDA Winner 2017; Chrysoline Dupont and Nicolas
Droin, both Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

INTERVIEW

Gerrit Glaner,
Head of C&A at Steinway in
Hamburg was chairman of the jury
who selected the candidates fromfour competitions of the Steinway
Prizewinner Concerts Network:
Claire Huangci (first prize Géza Anda
Competition, 2018), Mario Häring
(second prize in Leeds, 2018),
Dinara Klinton (third prize in Cleveland, 2018) and Théo Fouchenneret(first prize Geneva, 2018).

Gerrit Glaner, Steinway & Sons
“Today the discipline of conducting as a soloist is not taught at
a high level anywhere. Obviously it is difficult to organize as youneed an orchestra that really is open to this. But in Paris you havethis incredible professional orchestra, 42 chamber musicians, whodevote themselves entirely to four youngsters for a whole week.
All soloists played one movement of a concerto, so that they could
really get to the core of the music.
The competitive element was not the most prominent matter andalthough there is rivalry at competitions, one can stay respectful
and friendly and everybody should be. At competitions I often seethat musicians help each other, even when the other one is better and
one gets eliminated oneself. Those moments should be cherished.
Another advantage here was that all candidates could listen to eachother with the orchestra and learn, as they only had one movementof a concerto to play and study. Lars Vogt, highly experienced himself at playing and conducting simultaneously, was the Master ofCeremony so to speak and he did a great job as their mentor. The
competition element was not that serious, it was not like getting
30,000 bucks in Moscow. It was a different story. And it works
both ways: competition winners get to be part of this academy asa prize, and they also get concerts from the academy. Already inJanuary 2020, Claire Huangci has played her first Steinway Prizewinner Concert in the excellent concert series of the Louisiana

Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Three more will follow
at the Società Filarmonica Trento, The Edvard Grieg Museum
Troldhaugen at Grieg’s original Steinway grand and in the seriesof the Dubai Concert Commitée.
We didn’t have only first prizewinners. In sports number one isobjectively the best, but in music a ranking between the first three
in a competition doesn’t really make sense. The best proof is thequestion: ‘who was the better pianist: Horowitz or Rubinstein?’
Everyone has his own answer – and it is right.
I try to please everyone, competitions, pianists, concert organizers,
but after all, our main target group is the audience. I have seen
competitions with 50 people in the hall – shouldn’t it be full?
We have to make our concerts rich and interesting, the concert
goers more curious about the youth. At almost every concert at
the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, for example, people from the audience ask us to please continue with our Steinway PrizewinnerConcerts in the next season. That is the best possible response!
Of course we do!
The PPDA it is something special. For organisers this is a completely different kettle of fish, but I would like to export this excellent idea of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris to other orchestras
because it puts everyone involved in a different limelight.”
ERIC SCHOONES

www.orchestredechambredeparis.com/paris-play-direct-academy-en/academicians

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

11

A TONE TO TOUCH THE SOUL
Make your piano dreams come true with the C. Bechstein grand piano B 212
and feel free to arrange a personal consultation.
Your nearest authorized C. Bechstein dealer:
www.bechstein.com/en/find-your-bechstein-dealer

CAROLINE DOUTRECOMPETITION PROFILE

MichelDalberto

C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG will organize the Bechstein-Bruckner
Competition Austria on May 25th and 26th, 2020 in cooperation
with the Brucknerhaus Linz. The competition serves to promote
young pianists from a total of nine Austrian music academies andconservatories, which offer a course for “piano solo”. The auditions
are public and will take place free of charge.
The winner can look forward to a concert engagement as part of
the C. Bechstein piano evenings at the Brucknerhaus Linz on June
10, 2020 with a guaranteed fee of 3,000 euros. The second prize is
2,000 euros and the third prize is 1,000 euros. In addition, in thefirst round, the organizers will award a special prize worth 500 euros
for the best interpretation of the compulsory piece, the Fantasie
G major WAB 118 by Anton Bruckner, and in the second round a
special prize worth 500 euros for the best interpretation of theobligatory piano sonata in F major KV 332 by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart.
The competition jury consists of three top-class pianists, Prof.
Michel Dalberto (Conservatoire national supérieur de musique etde danse de Paris), Prof. Roland Krüger (University of Music, Drama
and Media Hanover) and Prof. Konstantin Lifschitz (Lucerne Schoolof Music). These piano professors do not teach in Austria and haveno personal relationship with any of the participants.
Each of the institutions had the right to nominate a participant for
the Bechstein-Bruckner competition in advance. The participating
pianists, conservatories and universities:

BechsteinBruckner
Competition– Joseph Haydn Conservatory of the State of Burgenland / Eisenstadt
Julian Yo Hedenbor from Salzburg (Austria),
taught by Prof. Dr. Stanislaw Tichonow– University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Anfisa Bobylova from Russia, taught by Libor Novacek– Tyrolean State Conservatory / Innsbruck
Valentina Erler from Tyrol (Austria), taught by Prof. Shao-Yin Huang– Carinthian State Conservatory / Klagenfurt
Jeongsun An from South Korea, taught by Lorenzo Cossi– Anton Bruckner Private University Linz
Sebastian Galli from Freistadt (Upper Austria),
taught by Clemens Zeilinger– University Mozarteum Salzburg
Su-Yeon Kim from South Korea, taught by Prof. Pavel Gililov– Vorarlberg State Conservatory / Feldkirch
Nicola Schöni from Switzerland, taught by Anna Adamik– Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna
Hugo Alonso Llanos Campos from Rancagua (Chile),taught by Klaus Sticken– University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Irma Gigani from Tblisi (Georgia), taught by Prof. Stefan Arnold
The auditions will take place on May 25 and 26, 2020
from 10 a.m. to around 5 p.m. in the Brucknerhaus Linz.
Admission is free.

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

13

INTERVIEW

Gilles Ledure

LANDER LOECKX

After various positions at La Monnaie, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique duLuxembourg, the Orchestre National de Lille and the Lille Piano Festival, Gilles Ledure has been managing
the Flagey house of culture in Brussels. And last year’s violin edition at the Queen Elisabeth Competitionin Brussels was his maiden trip as the Chairman of the Jury.

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

INTERVIEW

Patience, prudence,long-term thinking
Mr Ledure: a perfectly bilingual, exemplary Belgian who has an
obvious love and taste for the piano. Two clear reasons for making
you the Chairman of the Queen Elisabeth competition’s jury.

Moreover the piano is the instrument I play myself. But indeed:this somewhat forgotten, charming bilingualism, which is typical for
those institutions that cherish the Belgian communities’ equality, isa great advantage around here. Equally important are the facts that,turning 50 this year, I’m not a rookie anymore, and that as a musicprogrammer, I know virtually everybody who sits on the jury, or who
qualifies for it. That is with the exception of the opera and singing
world, which is so highly specific that Bernard Foccroulle has beenasked as Chairman of the Jury for the singing competition. Funnily
enough, Bernard was my first boss, 25 years ago at La Monnaie.
We have been organisers for a quarter of a century. That makes us
doers in the first place, while working as a Chairman of the Jurymainly requires talking and using diplomacy. The competition starts
long before people are entering the hall. Everything is discussed inadvance: which parameters are to be assessed? What about old music?
What about music after Rachmaninov?
Is there a policy to avoid that, as we once did with the Germans infootball, because in the end it’s always Rachmaninov 3 or Prokofiev 2
who win?

Policy is a heavy word. One can make a recipe that is perfect theoretically, but in the end it is the quality of the ingredients that you
depend on.
Does the jury deliberate, having actual discussions?

No. Everyone gives points and delivers them. Sometimes the result
is quite surprising, precisely because no compromises are negotiated.
Discussions on aesthetics are endless and highly subjective. Moreover,members of the jury who are opponents instead of colleagues, rarely
come back next time.
But one must not ignore the different kinds of prejudice that jury
members bring to the table. They all have perfect ears, but neverthelesstheir opinions often are miles apart.

That is true. In order to rule out this kind of thing as much as we
possibly can, we make sure the jury is large and varied. By the way:
finding a jury is not always easy. Members have to be available forquite a long period, which is less than obvious for musicians with abusy concert schedule. Being on a jury is tiresome, and of course afinancial drain in comparison to concert life at the top.
Which qualities are important for a chairman?

Patience, prudence, long-term thinking. It’s all a kind of new to me,come to think of it (laughs).
Being an organiser is about sharing the things you cherish. A competition has important features that are explicitly non-musical. There is norival in a real-life concert situation.

As a matter of fact, there is, in a way. Of course, you don’t play musicin order to be better than the others. Great winners, by the way, don’teven do so in a competition. In fact, that’s why they are great winners.
But there is a reason most people don’t become musicians: standing
naked in front of 2,000 listeners requires quite a special psychology.
I’m not talking about narcissism, I’m talking about danger, audacity
and courage. You want to be on stage? Then live up to it. You cannot
be a surgeon if you can’t stand the sight of blood.
Surgeons don’t have to decide who does the ‘best’ pancreas surgery.

I think most people don’t do what they do because of the pleasure of
beating someone. But in any profession that can be practiced right orwrong, one will be compared eventually. You will end up in the arena.
That is the human condition, of course. But making it the name of thegame is something different, don’t you think?

I don’t agree. I listen to about 150 concerts a year. At Flagey I know
virtually everybody. Each night there are people thanking me, andothers who are asking me why on earth I put this evening’s show on
the programme. The public is heterogeneous. No doubt there is aslightly mundane side to this kind of competition. But I have been
following the Queen Elisabeth Competition myself since I was ten,and I never wondered nor speculated about my favourite player’s
chances or strategy. I just went from musical discovery to musicaldiscovery.
How is it to be the very poster boy of it?

It might be the greatest gift that has ever been given to me.
RUDY TAMBUYSER

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

15

A CONDUCTOR’S VIEW

Gilbert Varga conducted
the finals at the Queen Elisabeth
Competition from 2001 to 2012,
working with first prize winners
now well established, suchas Severin von Eckardstein,
Sergei Khatchatryan andAnna Vinnitskaya.

Gilbert Varga
studied violin from the age of four withhis father, Tibor Varga, a famous Hungarian
violinist and conductor. He is chairman of thejury of the International Violin Competition
Henri Marteau. Varga has conducted mostof the world’s finest orchestras during his careerand has held titled positions on many continents.
He is currently Principal Conductor of the Pannon
Philharmonic Orchestra in Pécs, Hungary.

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

A CONDUCTOR’SINTERVIEW
VIEW

My first recollection of a competition was of my father’s violincompetition in Switzerland. I was a kid, selling tickets, and at thattime I learned to hate competitions. I was well aware of the horrible
situation for candidates from the communist countries. I remember
vividly, I was 13 at the time, after the final rounds of one of thosecompetitions there was a young girl from Bulgaria crying, saying“if I don’t get a prize I will not be able to leave my country anymore”. There was huge stress especially for the Russians for political reasons, and jury members were under pressure as well.
I never participated, and much later I became more and more awareof the fact how important competitions are. All competitions haveto be perfectly organised, on the highest level, to give participants
the best circumstances and best opportunities. Moreover, theorchestra has to play in the best possible way and give the candidates the feeling they are loved and supported.
In Brussels I devoted myself exclusively to this competition for one
month. Preparing the orchestra, pushing the musicians to playsofter and softer, to allow the candidates to be heard. I also visited
all the candidates in the Chapelle Reine Elisabeth, but I was notallowed to discuss the new piece they had to prepare in a week’stime. We only talked about the romantic concerto. The orchestra
had the advantage of knowing the new piece a bit longer: we had arehearsal with the composer and we even recorded the piece forthe jury, so as not to give the candidates of the first evenings the
disadvantage of the jury not knowing the piece.
The candidates could chose any concerto, but in the piano session
we had Rachmaninoff’s Third, Tchaikovsky’s First, and Prokofiev’s
Second and Third Concerto, sometimes multiple times. And thatis a real challenge! I had a different score for every candidate, but
the orchestra musicians did not. What made it even more complicated: while one candidate played in the evening, we had a dress
rehearsal in the morning for the candidates of the following day.
That resulted in different candidates possibly with the same concerto on one day. That could be very confusing for the orchestra,so I marked all the differences on a paper: subito piano for candidate A but forte for candidate B, for example.

FELIX BROEDE

Listen!

The organisation did this in the best interest of the candidates ofcourse, to allow them to rest between rehearsal and performance.
The all-important element in orchestral playing and especially atcompetitions is to listen! If you say “Listen!” at a rehearsal, people
immediately play differently. I learned this from Sergiu Celibidache;the colours, the transparency of his sound are inimitable.
Yes, it would be an interesting thought to give the orchestra or the
conductor a vote in competitions. But in Brussels I always agreed
with the jury’s choice for the first prize anyway. They always
whispered the winner’s name in my ear ten minutes before the official announcement. And all the winners I worked with are wonderful artists enjoying a successful career.
In Belgium there are two institutions that hold the country together:
the kingdom and the competition. There are many things that sadly
separate this wonderful country, but those two bring all Belgians
together. The royals always attend practically every session and I
remember lovely hours with Queen Fabiola and the present queen
as well, who is always very supportive. The importance of the competition is beyond the musical aspect, it is like a national glue.
ERIC SCHOONES

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

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21 - 30 September 2020

Dortmund // Germany

Watch us live!
Follow the competition and visit the livestream on facebook.com/schubertwettbewerb

BRUNO VESSIEZA TECHNICIAN’S VIEWPeter Head

Being on standby all the time
Steinway Concert Technician Peter Head has been with Piano’s Maene in Belgium for 15 years
now and he is responsible for the piano at the upcoming Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Yes, possibly there might be one more in the future, but the competition is only part of my job of course. I enjoy working at Maene very
much, a very interesting company with the restauration projects andI was also involved in building the first Barenboim piano.

families who have the candidates living in. I start tuning at seven in
the morning and my day ends around midnight. I am on standby all
the time, and in the meantime I also function as a release valve forthe candidate when they get stressed. We tried tuning with different
technicians but it was disaster, because we all tune differently.

Is tuning at a competition stressful?

Should a technician know how to play himself?

Brussels with exclusively Steinway, is not as bad as the Chopin in
Warsaw where technicians of different brands work all through thenight in shifts for weeks. In Brussels the first rounds are in the Flagey,
a fantastic sounding studio and then the piano is moved to the Bozar,a much bigger hall. So then the piano voiced perfectly for the Flagey
now has to fill the Bozar. I wish they would use a different instrument
but I understand this is to accommodate the candidates and the jury.
All candidates play the same piano and in the try-out with 85 pianists
each playing for ten minutes, they all try the big stuff, the Rachmaninoffs, and the piano has like ten years use in three days! The Russians
usually are very happy just to have a piano in tune, but the Europeans
are spoiled.

I didn’t train as a musician but [laughs] I can make it sound like I
know what I am doing. I really enjoy the very interesting discussions
with the jury: they try the piano to know what the piano is capableof, and what candidates are capable of or not. I don’t really know
if the candidates play everything correctly, but from the sound they
produce I can almost pick out about three-quarters of those who
make it in the competition.

It will be your fourth competition?

You alone are responsible for the piano in the hall?

Yes, colleagues take care of the practice pianos and those with the

You mean colours, like Severin von Eckardstein has?

Ah, yes, he is a classic example. Some pianists can do miracles.
Once we had a pianist sounding just awful and Von Eckardstein wascoming the next week. I prepared myself for a lot of work on the piano,
but when he touched it, it sounded magical. I feel very privileged
knowing artists like that.
ERIC SCHOONES

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

19

OPINION

Play it safe orcommit to being personal?
Bela Bartók once stated that competitions are for horses and not musicians.
He had a valid point: the very concept of a “winner” runs counter to the essenceof creativity and inspired musical interpretation.

MALCOLM CROWTHERS

Ivo PogorelichWith so many factors contributing to a great performance,
how are jurors to decide that one reading is ‘better’ than another.
While the mechanical elements can be easily graded, how doesone ‘score’ an interpretation’s emotional content and conceptual
cohesiveness, particularly when musical taste is subjective?
Differences of opinion are a matter of fact in art – as the saying
goes, De gustibus non est disputandum (“In matters of taste, there
can be no disputes”) – but competitions require agreement amongst
jurors. Performers wanting to win need to ensure that their readings do not go against any of the judges’ preferences, and it might
be more than just a disagreement about one’s approach that leads
to a lower score: Charles Rosen stated that Rosalyn Tureck voted
against Andras Schiff at the 1975 Leeds Competition because“he played Bach better than she did.”If a musician’s prime intent shifts from doing justice to the composer’s intentions and revealing the depth of a musical creation to
wanting to ‘win’ because the prize can help their career, the flavourof their playing changes radically. The pianist will usually ‘play it
safe’ by toning down a more individual use of rubato or otherexpressive nuancing that one juror might like but that anotherDINULIPATTI.COM

OPINION

Dinu Lipatti readingmight find too extreme – more than one competitor has told methat they avoid doing anything ‘too personal’ for this reason.
If musicians are groomed to play ‘safely’ in order to win, does thisapproach not seep into their artistry even when not playing in competitions? Can they really play one way for a jury and another way
in concert? What is the impact if the culture of classical music
normalizes an ‘agreeable’ standard of musical performance as
opposed to rewarding a range of individual but musicallyinformed styles? After a university lecture in which I presented
historical recordings by legendary pianists, an acclaimed musicologist in attendance stated that he believed that eight of the tenmusicians we’d heard had styles so personal that they would not
get past the first round in a competition today.
There have been persistent allegations of some competitions being
rigged in favour of a given performer’s nationality or the importance of their teacher, leading to calls for increased transparency,such as banning secret ballot voting and forbidding teachers whose
students are participating from being jurors. Having competitors
play anonymously would be one possible solution and would not
be without precedent: the 1910 Blüthner Prize had the judges

screened from all pianists and the BBC used to hold auditions by
having musicians play behind a screen. There have also been suggestions of separating jurors from one another to limit any communication (verbal or otherwise) in order to render their voting
completely independent.
The value of competitions has been questioned since musicians
who win don’t always develop a successful career, while those that
don’t win don’t always languish in obscurity. In some cases a lower
ranking might have actually increased an artist’s recognition:
Dinu Lipatti. Michel Block, and Ivo Pororelich all had major jurors(Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubinstein, and Martha Argerich respectively) protest their colleagues’ assessments, and other non-winners
have had respectable careers. More recently, the evolution of technology has given a voice to the general public that a complement
to the jury’s selections and could favour the underdogs. Lucas Debargue became an audience favourite when the 2015 Tchaikovsky
Competition streamed online, and despite having only placed fourth,
his career has taken off more than those of the higher prize winners.
Despite their flaws, competitions can most definitely be tremendously beneficial to budding musicians. The capacity to play under

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

21

Follow the Liszt Competition live!
The entire competition can befollowed live and on-demand

For more information,
performance schedules
and the webcast:www.liszt.nl

Piano Competition

OPINION

pressure is tested and can be developed (that said, it was disturbing
to hear one juror state that they weren’t interested in finding a starartist but rather someone who could survive the process and therefore succeed in the industry). Additionally, those who get throughto the final round will also have an opportunity to play with anorchestra, an experience of immeasurable value to aspiring musicians. Learning a breadth of repertoire that needs to be performed
in a short space of time is also of great benefit.
The importance of the social element of such events should not
be underestimated. Many participants have forged lifelong friendships thanks to their shared love of music and camaraderie ascompetitors. Important business connections can also be nurtured.
One participant who won an honourable mention casually said
hello to someone at the post-competition gala: she had alreadyenjoyed his playing and his personable nature sealed the deal,leading her to immediately invite him to appear in her concert
series, which then led to further engagements. As Debargue said,“It’s the competition, but it’s also what is happening around thecompetition.”
There are a lot of factors that contribute to a musician’s success.
Legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz said that “vitality, concentration, tact, and stamina“ are required to live “the strenuous life ofa concert artist.“ Business acumen and good management are also
necessary for career success. While winning might not guarantee
a great career, competitions can provide musicians with an opportunity to hone their skills and develop important relationshipsthat can help them on their path.
MARK AINLEY

NEWS

Fairnessand integrity

Florian Riem

Reporting to president Didier Schnorhk and the board, he iscurrently the sole executive of the federation and will lead theorganisation until a new Secretary General is announced in
May 2020.
Born in Munich, Germany, Florian Riem is also CEO of the
Tongyeong International Music Foundation, its internationalmusic festival, and the Isang Yun Competition in Tongyeong,
South Korea, a position he has held since 2014.
Originally a cellist, Riem holds a M.A. from Indiana University in Bloomington (USA), where he studied with JanosStarker. He worked as General Manager for Gidon Kremer’s
Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, as Managing Director

SIHOON KIM

In August 2019, the Board of Directorsof the Geneva-based World Federationof International Music Competitions(WFIMC) appointed Florian Riem as
Interim Secretary General.
for Jessye Norman, and as Chief Executive of the South-West
German Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany before taking
on his position in Korea.
“Representing most major competitions around the world,
WFIMC sets standards and guidance to ensure that its member competitions are held at the highest artistic and operational level. Young musicians from around the world expect
and appreciate the values WFIMC stands for: artistic excellence, flawless organisation, fairness, integrity. In safeguarding and sustaining these values, I am honoured to serve theFederation and its illustrious, distinguished member competitions.”

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

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INTERVIEWInternational Franz Liszt Piano Competition

Everything
in the interest of the pianists
The Utrecht Liszt Competition is evolving into one of the major events for young virtuosos.
The competition has been developing new ideas constantly, and director Rob Hilberink recently
pulled another rabbit out of his magical hat: a conducting competition, based on the same
principles as the Liszt Competition, serving young musicians and their careers.

The Liszt Competition has a new formula. Before the finals, nobody
is sent home.

Yes, all candidates present themselves in three rounds. While notso many competitions have this system, it turned out very well. You
know, it is such a disappointment to travel home, sometimes to theother end of the world, after only playing for 20 minutes. We also
noticed candidates are better prepared knowing they are obliged toplay three rounds; it is worth the investment of their time. I always
have the interest of the young pianists in mind. We see the competition more like a festival, where young people can play for the publicand connoisseurs. This effect is greatly enhanced by our livestream,
which, with new partners in China and Korea, will probably get overone million views.
In your brochure it says the jury is looking for imaginative programming and repertoire choices. The repertoire has a reputation as being
highly demanding.

With Liszt the focus is automatically on virtuosity, but also on lesser
known repertoire, which is interesting for the public and a test for the
candidates as well, who will likely be asked to play unusual repertoire
later in their career as well. We also get fewer pianists who are hoppingfrom one competition to the next with the same repertoire, because
for our competition you really need to prepare for months.
Second election round in New York (from left to right):
Jean Dubé, Mariangela Vacatello, director Rob Hilberink andChristiaan Kuyvenhoven, the jury consisting of former Prize winners.

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

In 2020, we will be awash with Beethoven and now the Liszt Competition, which was exclusively devoted to the works of Liszt, will include
Beethoven in the program, so we will not be given a moment’s breakfrom this overdose of Beethoven?

[laughs] The fact that we are in March may perhaps be a sort of consolation. But, I think we are highlighting things that nobody else isdoing this year. And do prepare yourself for the next edition, because
we will have another composer next to Liszt from now on.
You are not going to tell me who I suppose?

No, but you can probably guess. Liszt was always promoting otherINTERVIEW

Yamaha, Steinway & Sons, Fazioli and Maene on stage

composers and it shows him from a new angle. It will be interesting
to see how the other composers influenced Liszt’s own development.

Selection Rounds and the actual competition. So that means the ninemonths of preparation can give young artists a real boost!

You plan the repertoire together with Leslie Howard, who knows
the composer inside out.

You also selected the jury using special criteria.

Yes, we have a few very special things: three finalists will all play the
piano concerto Liszt based on Beethoven’s Ruins of Athens, and it’s
probably the only time this year it will be played. But there will also
be original works by Beethoven, the Hammerklavier Sonata and his
Piano Trios.

Yes, all our jury members have a special affinity with Liszt, and thisyear, with all Beethoven / Liszt Symphonies in the repertoire, we havepianists who recorded all the symphonies: Cyprien Katsaris and Leslie
Howard. But in general I want the jury to be open to help young talents
and not come with hidden agendas of helping their students for example.
And you are hosting the Alink-Argerich Foundation conference?

Are you trying to move away from attracting the super virtuoso typeof pianist?

Of course with Liszt virtuosity is a key element, but we are interested
in people who can transcend the digital acrobatics and simply tell astory, make music.
Of the 57 pianists who played in the selection rounds 14 are invited toparticipate in the competition. That puts a huge responsibility on thejury of the pre-selection. Are you happy with the result? I know you
are probably not going to tell me.

[laughs] As a director I don’t have an opinion on the individual candidates, but I am happy with the overall level and statistics; ten different
nationalities including new countries like Peru, Croatia and the Czech
Republic, and eight men and six women. Some have been successful
in other competitions, for others it is their first time. In past editions
we have always seen a huge difference between the ranking of the

I am very excited about that, and I am looking forward to meeting
many colleagues from other competitions. We do see a competition
as a festival, and try to include as many interesting side activities as
possible. For instance, we also have lectures and an exhibition of thefive pianos Beethoven owned in his lifetime.
Candidates can choose from four brands of pianos: Yamaha, Steinway & Sons, Fazioli and Maene. It sounds like a competition for pianomakers too?

It may seem like that, but our goal is to facilitate young pianists inevery possible way. That is why we also have host families for them:
they have a good piano ready for them 24 / 7 and they enjoy the moral
support of people caring for them.
ERIC SCHOONES

www.liszt.nl

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16 Jahre.
8 PreisTräger.
1 konzerT.
PianistengiPfel 2020
12. Dez 2020
Telekom Forum

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18. JuA TEACHER’S VIEW

Named “The Empress of the Piano”
by French newspaper Le Figaro, Rena
Shereshevskaya is responsible for the boost
and success of the young French pianist
generation. Pedagogue and coach torenowned prize-winning pianists, such as
Lucas Debargue, Rémi Geniet, and the latest
winner of the prestigious XVI International
Tchaikovsky Competition last summer,
Alexandre Kantorow, makes the world
wonder about the person behindthe successes.

Rena ShereshevskayaIt’s not about winning
On January 14, Shereshevskaya received the honor “Chevalier del’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture.
With a professional background at the Moscow Conservatory andthe Ippolito-Ivanov Institute, Shereshevskaya was invited to Collar
International Music Festival in France in 1993 to form classes andworkshops for talented young pianists. This was a pioneer’s projectand it took 15 years before such an initiative was introduced in
France by French institutions. A Paris resident she now functionsas professor at École Normale de Musique de Paris, “Alfred Cortot” and is a regular centerpiece at the Festival International dePiano La Roque d’Anthéron every summer. With such an impact
it’s easy to think in terms of a “magic formula”, but Shereshevskaya
prefers to think in terms of creative questioning concerning themusical works, to decipher them as literature, philosophy or theatre
pieces. To follow the composer’s thoughts, ideas in details and to
fully understand leads to a process recreating the music again
together with the composer.
Shereshevskaya encourages her students to do the same and when
the idea – the sense of a musical work – becomes clear for them,
students may have their own ideas of interpretation. She points outthat the teacher is for the student and not the other way aroundand that the student must believe in her as a musician.
As a stellar pedagogue we find many of Shereshevskaya’s students
participating in competitions around the globe, but what really
does a competition mean to the student? She says it can differ. It
can be a way to win a ticket to a career, even go for prize moneyas sums nowadays are elevated or get a stimulus for concentrated
work. There may be another approach though: not to think about
the financial or career aspects but to have a desire to plunge into
the culture of another country, to play as well as possible in concert
halls one was dreaming about, or to get closely in touch with acompetition that belongs to history.
Shereshevskaya points out that a piano competition, as a competition in any other profession, requires the highest perfection. Only
the aspiration to perfection and the very hard work it requires cancreate a real professional. The most important is to touch throughyour interpretation; but to achieve this the interpreter must first of
all be touched by the music himself and not at all think of winninga prize.
PATRICK JOVELL

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

27

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SIMON JAY PRICEA DIRECTOR’S VIEW

Adam Gatehouse

Conductor and former BBC Producer and Editor
Adam Gatehouse has been working with young
musicians ever since he was a young musician
himself and together with Paul Lewis, he took
over the Leeds International Piano Competition in2015 from the legendary Fanny Waterman, whofounded it in 1963. He now is the sole artistic
director. Lots of things have changed.

Reaching out to the World
Adam Gatehouse: “The competition has a great reputation witha very impressive list of laureates, but we wanted to make it much
more outward facing, relevant to the public and more significant
to young musicians, who today are very different from the young
musicians of 30 years ago. A very important step to reach a wider
audience was to offer a free internet stream of the competition.
We work with Medici.tv, and we reached 190 countries, and one
million views, which is crucially important. We also organised thefirst round in Berlin, Singapore and New York. That was big successand we will be taking that further in 2021.
The competition is held every three years, and instead of going tosleep between two editions, we set up a festival presenting a seriesof concerts both in Leeds and in London. Starting from this year,
we will have an international piano series throughout the season
that no longer is in a concentrated span of time and mainly in Leeds.
We don’t offer huge, but still very respectable, cash prizes, butmuch more crucially we can offer serious valuable career-building
opportunities. For the competitors who don’t make it to the finals
we also want to make it a more holistic experience, with masterclasses, concerts, and advice on lots of aspects of the profession.
I think what is unique in the world of competitions is our partnership with Askonas Holt, who will take on the management of a
finalist. Warner Classics will be producing a prize winners’ CD
shortly after the competition and Warner also has signed Eric Lu,
who is now presenting his second CD and enjoying a really serious
international career. Furthermore, we partner with importantvenues like Wigmore Hall and Southbank.
In the best interest of young artists, you now have to be 20 to enter
the competition, and even that is very young. The demands of theconcert life are not to be underestimated. A winner has to be readyand I remember Murray Perahia telling me after he won he had totake off six months just to learn new repertoire.
We see a huge appetite in the world for the piano and we want toreach out to the world. We have developed a strong education programme, using digital technology and for this we partner with Lang
Lang and his organisation, and the University of Leeds. So, yes
indeed, we want Leeds Piano to be a springboard for other activities,
not just a competition.”

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COMPETITION REPORT

Paderewski Competition,
Bydgoszcz (Poland)
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) was extraordinary: he was pianist,composer and statesman. He had studied piano at the conservatory in
Warsaw and also in Vienna (with Theodor Lechetizky). He had great
successes with his performances in Europe and in the USA.

In 1960, to mark the centennial of his birth year, the first Paderewski
Competition was established and held in Bydgoszcz in November
1961. In 1998, the Paderewski Competition had its 4th edition, andbecame international for the first time. As many as 59 pianists had
applied and the winner was Tomomi Okumura from Japan who went
on to win prizes in Cologne and Zürich (Concours Geza Anda).
Since 1998, the Paderewski Competition has been held every three
years and steadily developed into a prominent international pianocompetition in the music scene. Henryk Martenka has been thecompetition director since 1998 and Piotr Paleczny the artistic
director. With the 7th competition in 2007, a big step was madewhen the prize money was doubled. There were four rounds insteadof three, and many more pianists applied: 157. At the next competition, in 2010, the prizes were increased even further, so that thefirst prize became 30,000 euros. Ever since, the competition has
always been at a high level, in terms of prize money, organisationand performances.
A record number of 185 pianists applied for the 11th competitionin 2019. To make a fair preselection of all applicants, live auditions
were organised (and have already been since 2007) in various cities
around the world. 56 pianists were admitted to the competition.

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THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

Nowadays, there are so many competitions that it is unavoidable
some overlap. Unfortunately, the Paderewski Competition overlapped with the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in Paris.
Thus it happened that one pianist (Alexander Panfilov) was accepted
to both competitions. He chose to go to Paris (like many others,
he believed that he could have the opportunity to play for Martha
Argerich). For various reasons, ten other pianists also withdrew
their participation in Bydgoszcz, which was a pity, because they
were also excellent pianists, who had already received major awards.
The 45 pianists who came to Bydgoszcz prepared their repertoire
for the four rounds of this competition: two hours of solo repertoire
plus two piano concertos. Naturally, some works by Paderewski
had to be performed as well as a commissioned piece by Michal
Dobrzynski, but the rest of the solo repertoire was totally free. All
rounds were broadcast live on the internet and can still be viewed
at the competitions website. The competition has already had
537,000 views on the internet!
The jury consisted of nine experienced musicians from all over theworld: Poland, Russia, Georgia, China, Japan, Canada and Brazil.
The hall was full for the five selected finalists, and after the last
performance, while the jury had its final deliberation, the audience

JAROSLAW PRUSSCOMPETITION REPORT

Winner Philipp Lynov during his performance in the finals.

was entertained by Krzysztof Herdzin, a professional jazz pianist.
When the results were announced, two of the five finalists werebound to be disappointed, as there were three main prizes. Sergey
Belyavsky was one of them. The next day, right after the official
award ceremony, all five finalists were to perform one or two pieces.
Sergey came on stage, sat at the piano, but did not play. He explained to the audience that he could not accept the results of thiscompetition. What had happened? Some jury members had told
him that he had been very close to winning the first prize. In fact,
he needed only one more vote. Not receiving any of the three main
prizes was hard to understand. However, Belyavsky received several
special prizes. This was the 9th international competition he hadentered in 2019. A month earlier, he had been finalist in Hong Kongand he had also won prizes in other competitions, the years before.
Naturally, the results of competitions fluctuate. It depends on
many factors and a pianist’s performance might be more or less

Piotr Paleczny and the other jury members on stage for the results.

inspired at different moments. Sergey posted his opinion on theinternet and many reactions appeared in the social media, someof them quite strong. The competition issued an official statement
and published all the points given by the jury at every stage of thecompetition: http://konkurspaderewskiego.pl/en/statement. It could
thus be seen that the jury had followed the rules. These were veryclear, but some people suggested that the jury rules need to bereviewed. Winner of this 11th Paderewski Competition was Philipp Lynov (Russia). Kamil Pacholec (Poland) received 2nd prize.
According to the rules, these two would be directly admitted to
the famous Chopin Competition in Warsaw (for which more than
500 pianists applied!).
GUSTAV ALINKA beautiful documentary of the competition was shown on Polish
Television and will also be available on the competition website.

Philipp Lynov
receives thefirst prize.

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31

BEHIND THE SCENES

Innovations at the Chopin Competition 2020

New Reality in Warsaw
The upcoming International XVIII Chopin Competition in Warsaw’s 2020 edition
is now introducing Virtual Reality (VR) as a means to experience the event in a completely
new way, possibly setting a new standard for piano competitions to come.

The Philharmonia Orchestra was the first UK orchestra to launch
its “The Virtual Orchestra” in 2017, bringing a full hall experience
providing the best possible seat: up on stage with the orchestra,facing the conductor. However, orchestras in general do not see VR
as a silver bullet of ticket sales but rather as “audience development”.
New experiences are a constant goal for orchestras, and often oneof the leading motivations when we see orchestras or classical musicorganizations engage in high-tech ventures.
In Warsaw the VR camera will be located on stage in the National
Philharmonic, close to the pianist, providing a similar view to theperspective of the performing artists themselves. A separate channel
is being prepared to allow VR streaming and will be available at

THE FRYDERYK CHOPIN INSTITUTE / BARTEK SADOWSKThe everyday newsflow on the Internet allows us to come across awide variety of musical experiences, ranging from new album
samples, old recordings with forgotten musicians, videos, entire concerts and documentaries from now and the past.
Much like the rest of the entertainment and music world, pianocompetitions are keeping up with technology with a firm wish
to entice new audiences, expand geographically and to increaseavailability. Old and new worlds meet when classical music andvirtual reality come together and provide new ways of accessingclassical music, not least for the younger generation which finds
technology easier to relate to. Some even call virtual reality thesaviour of this timeless music scene.

THE FRYDERYK CHOPIN INSTITUTE / WOJCIECH GRZEDZINSKI

At the Chopin
Competition

the competition website: chopin2020.pl. This requires a VR headset for those who want to watch the VR streaming at home. If you
don’t have a VR headset and still would like to experience the spatiality of the stage and the hall, special “Listener Zones” will be
prepared all over the world, with seats to watch the competition
through VR technology.

The outreach background
With a new high of over 500 competition applicants, the Chopin
Competition attracts audiences everywhere. Tickets quickly get soldout and the YouTube platform where the competition is streamed
live already has 120,000 followers. 56.1 % of these are between 13
and 34, and represent a generation raised in digital technology.
Over 60 million views during the 2015 Competition proved the worldwide online interest more than ever before. Therefore, the aim now
is to put a special focus on the multimedial aspect with a new web
design, introducing a compendium disposition with vast amounts
of information – about participants, jurors, competition news, video
materials, photos, archival sources, and an all auditions archive.
For interactivity, two apps have been created for smartphones andtablets: iOS and Android plus the SMARTtv app. Thus, users will
be able to comment on the materials live, exchange opinions, etcetera. These applications will be the base for the streaming of theentire Competition. Furthermore, transmission quality is enhanced

and broadcast will be in 4K quality. Until now, 4K live broadcasts
have been used mainly for the most important sport events, suchas the football World Cup or the Wimbledon tennis. When newtechnology emerges, it is looking for content that shows why it offers
a new experience. In this respect, the versatility and scale of a concert hall performance – with anywhere from 70 to 100 musicians
and dozens of colours and sounds to experience – is uniquely suited
to show off the possibilities of the VR technology. But the techmarket’s increasing wish to visualise music experiences raises thequestion whether visuality removes the focus from the actual listening. Which audible effects will altered spatial navigation andreality have on the listeners’ senses?
Since movie theatres and streamed concerts have moved into private
homes, amazing development of technology in 3-D sound has blasted
our senses compared to “normal listening” at concert venues. In
the long run, will it be hard for the traditional concert experience
to compete with the supernatural sound of high-end sound andvideo technology? The question is perhaps how conservative areaudiences when it comes to how they want the music to be presented?
With piano competitions moving into the future it will most certainly be exciting to experience the new technological dimensionsof the XVIII Chopin Competition in Warsaw 2020.
PATRICK JOVELL

pianostreet.com

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

33

COMPETITION REPORT

A big applause for Jean-Baptiste Doulcet when he receives the Audience Prize.

First prize winner Kenji Miura together
with Martha Argerich.

Long-ThibaudCrespin Competition
evokes many emotions
The Concours Long-Thibaud was one of few competitions thatemerged during the 2nd World War. Its first edition in 1943 wasboth for violin and piano, and had to be a national event. Samson
François was the winner in the piano competition. Soon after the
war had ended, the 2nd edition in 1946 was international already.
No less than 56 pianists took part. They all played anonymously
in the first round. A large jury of 17 musicians, chaired by Jacques
Ibert, included pianists, composers and conductors (Eduard van
Beinum). Pierre Barbizet was among the finalists, but the 1st prize
went to Hédy Schneider (Hungary). The next Long-Thibaud Competition for piano took place in 1949. It proved to be an extraordinary year: the jury was even larger than before with 24 (!) personalities, including several composers (Andriessen, Enescu, Halffter,
Malipiero) and all the prize winners went on to have great careers:
Aldo Ciccolini, Ventsislav Yankoff, Daniël Wayenberg, Paul BaduraSkoda, just to mention the top four of the 10 finalists. The competition continued to grow and peaked in 1953, when the jury counted
no less than 27 very distinguished musicians, including Arthur
Rubinstein, Jascha Horenstein, Guido Agosti, Lev Oborin and34

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

many others. The number of participants was 89, the highest it
would get in the history of this competition. That year Philippe
Entremont shared the 2nd prize with Yevgeny Malinin. In those
years, the competition was a glorious event: whenever it took
place, large reports and articles appeared about it in the musicmagazines. Its success was overshadowed by the tragic death ofJacques Thibaud in an airplane crash on September 1st, 1953.
Until 1983, the competition was held for piano every other year,
but then assumed a three-year cycle, with a festival of laureates
after every two years of violin and piano competitions. In 2011,a new step was made with the introduction of a competition for
singers, named after Régine Crespin, and thus the Long-ThibaudCrespin was born.
The future of the competition was unclear after 2015; the organisers
strived to restore the glory of the past. With the commitment ofRenaud Capuçon, the 2018 competition for violin again had a very
impressive jury. The same was tried for the piano competition in
2019. Martha Argerich was announced to chair the jury, which
included other great musicians such as Marc-André Hamelin,

GUSTAV ALINKCOMPETITION REPORT

After his victory, Kenji Miura is interviewed by the media.

When the competition is over, jury, contestants and others can meet and greet.

In November 2019, the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition (LTC)
was open for pianists again. It promised to be a very exciting event.
The formerly named Concours Long-Thibaud (after the famous violinist
Jacques Thibaud and pianist Marguerite Long) has a long history.
Jean-Bernard Pommier, Anne Queffélec, Marie-Josèphe Jude and
Xu Zhong, as well as fine pianists of the next generation: Bertrand
Chamayou, Yulianna Avdeeva and Kirill Gerstein. The first prizeof 25,000 euros was also very attractive (though until 2009, theprizes had been even higher).
Many pianists wanted to take part and many applied. A preselection was carried out by live auditions in 10 major cities around theworld. A few other international music competitions also do this,but it was quite unusual that the preselection for the Long-ThibaudCrespin Competition was done by one single person: Marie-Josèphe
Jude took this responsibility and heard all the pianists. After thispreselection, 50 were admitted to the main competition, and 43
came on stage for the first round at Salle Cortot in Paris. Amongthe ones who did not come was Alexander Gadjiev who had won
the Hamamatsu Competition in 2015. Naturally, all pianists were
excited to be able to perform for such a distinguished jury, and it
was fully understandable that the disappointment was great when
they saw that Martha Argerich was absent. Bertrand Chamayou –also artistic director of this edition – took over the chairmanship.

The competition repertoire was very special: not Chopin’s 2nd
Sonata (1st and 4th movement) which had always been compulsory(as one of the conditions in Marguerite Long’s will), but Haydn’s
Variations, Hob. XVII-6, in the first round. More solo (including
one piece by a French composer) as well as chamber music in the
2nd round. The finals were held at Radio France: a 60-minute recitaland a concerto with orchestra. Martha Argerich joined the jury
for the finals with orchestra. The hall was full. Violinist Gidon
Kremer was also in the audience. Alexandra Stychkina (Russia,
16) was the youngest of the six finalists. First prize went to Kenji
Miura (Japan, 25), who gave a fine musical interpretation of Chopin’s
piano concerto No. 2, for which he also received a special prize.
The audience prize went to Jean-Baptiste Doulcet (France, 26),
who was ranked 4th by the jury.
GUSTAV ALINK

www.long-thibaud-crespin.org/concours/piano-2019.html

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

35

Fourth edition of International Competition

Piano Val de Travers

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VADIK ZIBROVCOMPETITION PROFILE

From left to right: Nicolas Comi (third prize ex-aequo), Katja Avdeeva (artistic
director of the competition), Roman Fediurko (first prize), Bohdan Terletskyy(third prize ex-aequo), Sofia Grishcheva (diploma)

Yang Yang Ruan playing in the finals 2019.

International Competition
Piano Val de Travers-Neuchâtel
The fourth edition of the Piano Val de Travers-Neuchâtel-competition will take place inthe romantic Swiss city of Neuchâtel. The great concert hall Temple du Bas with 700 seats andthe huge auditorium of the conservatory will welcome candidates from all over the world.
Some of the prizewinners will be invited to give further concerts in
Switzerland and abroad. The legendary pianist, Eduardo Delgado,
will be happy to come back for the third time and be chair of theinternational jury. The jury will work according to the competition
rules established by the EMCY. The world-famous pianist, Katja
Avdeeva, who has organized many international projects and has
inside experience of international competitions will personallysupervise the organisation of the competition and ensure that theconditions are optimal. Free family accommodation and otherfacilities will be provided for each candidate.
After her studies in St Petersburg, Katja Avdeeva came to Switzerland, where she studied with Marc Pantillon in Neuchâtel andThomas Larcher at the Basel Music Academy. The recording ofher final recital of Rachmaninoff’s complete Études-tableaux was
produced by Sony. She has been a champion for contemporary music,
working with legendary musicians like Pierre Boulez, Harrison
Birtwistle and Heinz Holliger. At the last recital of her festival,
she paid hommage to two composers from Neuchatel: Jean-PhilippeBauermeister and Adolphe Veuve who are less known to thegreater public.
In an interview, the winner of the first prize of 2019 Yang Yang
Ruan said that he was surprised by the high level of the performances given by the candidates. The Swiss public was very happy
to attend his concert again, when he came back six months laterto contribute to the WE-piano festival. He was very pleased by theopen mindedness of the members of the jury who – after the performances – engaged in detailed analyses of the performances ofeach candidate in a very friendly atmosphere. They further wereavailable to give a master class to each young musician if he or she
was interested. In fact, this event is not only a competition, but a
big musical family gathering.
Concours International Piano Val de Travers-Neuchâtel
February 28 – March 4, 2021
Application deadline: December 20, 2020
www.piano.international/en

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

37

Bartók World Competition
Chopin, Beethoven and Liszt Competitions are many, but Bartók Competitions are few.
In Hungary, there is the traditional Budapest International Music Competition,
established as a Liszt Competition in 1933.
Since 1956 it has been open for piano every five years and hassometimes been held as a Liszt-Bartók competition. But in 2017,
there was a completely new addition: the World Bartók Competition
was launched by the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Alternatingly,
the competition would be open for violinist, pianists and chambermusic and in between, there would be composition competitions.
The winning composition would then serve as a compulsory piece
for the next instrumental competition.
It started in 2017 with a violin competition, followed by composition (2018). In 2019, pianists could apply for the 3rd World Bartók
Competition. To be admitted, the pianists had to provide an application video. The recording had to show their performance ofthe 1st or 2nd piece of Bartók’s Suite Op. 14, and an etude by Liszt.
The preselection was carried out by three professors at the Liszt
Academy. After this preselection, 38 pianists were admitted.
Ten of them withdrew, so 28 came on stage for the first round in
the Solti hall of the Liszt Academy, where they had to play Bartók,
Liszt and a piece by Ernö Dohnányi or a ballade by Brahms.

38

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

The semi-finals also took place in this nice hall.
There was great interest in this competition; the hall was always
full with an enthusiastic audience. Naturally, people had their own
favorites among the Hungarian contestants: Krisztián Kocsis (sonof Zoltán Kocsis), Ádám Zsolt Szokolay (nephew of Balázs Szokolay, an excellent teacher and concert pianist) and Ádam Bálogh,
but also Balázs Demény, Benedek Horváth and others. They had
to compete with excellent young pianists from other countries such
as Peter Klimo (USA), Alena Klyavina (Russia), Tomás Vrána(Czech Rep.) and great talents from China, Japan and Korea.
The competition offered substantial prize money: 30,000 euros
first prize, and 20,000 and 10,000 euros for the second and thirdprize winners.
This World Bartók Competition consisted of four rounds. In the
2nd round (semi-finals), a piece by Bartók had to be performed(Improvisations, Suite or Sonata), one or two movements of a classical Sonata, and one of the two contemporary compositions that
had won the previous composition contest. The advantage of havingGÁBOR VALUSKA

A view of the Great Hallin the Liszt Academy.

COMPETITION REPORTGÁBOR VALUSKAGUSTAV ALINKThe first round andsemifinals were held in
the Solti Hall of theLiszt Academy.

The three winners(from left to right):
Peter Klimo (USA, 3rd),
Ádám Zsolt Szokolay (Hungary, 1st),Ádám Bálogh (Hungary, 2nd).

four rounds is that the jury can fully assess the level and artistry of
the candidates in different styles of repertoire. Another advantage
at this competition: no major cut after the first round. (At some
two-round competitions the number of participants can drop from
more than 60 to 6). In Budapest, 14 of the initial 28 contestantspassed to the next round.
The jury consisted of nine excellent pianists, of whom only three
Hungarian, but all of them had great affinity with Bartók’s music.
Interestingly, the jury was not chaired by a Hungarian, but by
Kenji Watanabe (Japan), who had lived and studied in Budapest
and who had been a prize winner of the 1981 Liszt Competition,
just as Muza Rubackyte who also served on the jury. Very wellknown is, of course, Tamás Vásáry, but three much younger pianists
were jurors too: Alexander Moutouzkine (Russia/USA), Andrei
Korobeinikov (Russia) and Klara Min (Korea/USA).
Six contestants were admitted to the 3rd round: the solo finals,
which had to include some Romantic repertoire as well as musicby French or Russian composers. Three Hungarian participants

made it to these solo finals, together with Peter Klimo (USA, butwith Hungarian ancestry), Daria Dadykina (Ukraine) and Alberto
Greer Menjón Bohanna from Spain. This round, as well as theGrand Final with orchestra, was held in the magnificent concert
hall of the Liszt Academy. It has a great history and a wonderfulatmosphere. Originally, the organisers had proposed that one of
Bartók’s three piano concertos had to be performed in the finals,
but the choice was widened to include Liszt as well. A pity that
Bartók’s Rhapsody for piano and orchestra (Op. 1) was not on thelist.
Peter Klimo performed Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and got
the 3rd prize. Ádám Bálogh played Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2
and received the 2nd prize. Ádám Szokolay gave a very fluent, lively
interpretation of Bartók’s first piano concerto with which he won
this competition. On one of the free days during the competition,
the organisers arranged a visit to Bartók’s house, which now is abeautiful and very interesting museum.
GUSTAV ALINK

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

39

COMPETITION REPORT

Cunmo Yin is the winner in Bonn.

The three finalists together
with Pavel Gililov.

DAN HANNEN

The international Telekom Beethoven
Competition Bonn was launched in 2005,
with Pavel Gililov as artistic director.
It is different from the traditional Beethoven
Competition in Vienna (established in 1961),
which focuses exclusively on Beethoven.

The International Telekom
Beethoven Competition Bonn
In Bonn, the competition repertoire is predominantly Beethoven,but the participants must also play Bach as well as Romantic andmodern compositions. The competition in Bonn is held every two
years. December 2019 was the 8th edition.
After an initial preselection, 28 pianists are admitted to the maincompetition, which has four rounds. Not only solo works are played.
The finals are in two parts: in the first part, Chamber Music is performed and in the second part a concerto for piano and orchestra.
This time, the Chamber Music consisted of a piano trio by Beethoven, performed together with the excellent Beethoven Trio Bonn:violinist Mikhail Ovrutsky and cellist Grigory Alumyan. Usually,
the pianist of this trio is Jinsang Lee. This time, he was member ofthe preselection jury, and together with his musical colleagues of
the trio and the main jury, they decided who would deserve thespecial award for the best Chamber Music performance. Speakingof special distinctions, there is one very unusual aspect of the
Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn: everyone who follows thecompetition on the internet (all rounds are live streamed), may casta vote online. After the first round (and also after the 2nd round),the pianist with the highest number of online votes will pass to thenext round, even if the professional jury did not vote for him or
her! (It is not published though, who received this privilege.) In thehall where the competition takes place, the audience may also voteduring the semi-finals and finals, and decide who receives the Beethoven-Haus Award (for the best semi-finalist) and the Audience
Prize (among the three finalists).
The participation in this 8th Telekom Beethoven Competition was
fully international, and when Pavel Gililov announced the results,
he underlined the fact that all three finalists came from Asia. The
music by Beethoven is truly universal. Cunmo Yin (China) won thefirst prize, Yuto Takezawa (Japan) got 2nd and the audience prize.
Shi-Hyun Lee (Korea) came third. The beautiful programme bookof the competition showed a long list of more than 40 fixed concert
engagements for the winners in 11 countries around the world.
GUSTAV ALINK

www.telekom-beethoven-competition.de
Videos of all performances:www.telekom-beethoven-competition.de/itbcb-en/media-library/video

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

41

COMPETITION PROFILE

Jury and winners in 2017

DANIEL DELANG

The ARD International
Music Competition
takes place every year
in four alternating
categories, the pianocompetition withinevery three years.
The first one started
in 1952.

ARD International
Music Competition
The next piano competition will take place from September 5
to 13, 2020. At the moment there are six jury members who haveconfirmed their cooperation: Janina Fialkowska, Nikolai Demidenko, Imogen Cooper, Ragna Schirmer, Cyprien Katsaris andMichel Béroff.
Moreover, Marton Illes is composing a commissioned piece.
The premiere will take place at the semifinals on September 11.
The participants will receive the score after the pre-selection,with the invitation to take part in the competition.
Every participant has to present a huge repertoire during the four
competition rounds – from Bach and Scarlatti, in the first round,through Mozart, romantic sonatas and contemporary music in thefollowing rounds, to the big concertos by Beethoven, Schumann,
Chopin, Ravel or Rachmaninov in the final round.
Two very prestigious orchestras will accompany the competition:
the Munich Chamber Orchestra at the semifinals and the BavarianRadio Symphony Orchestra at the finals.
Because of its scale and prestige, the competition offers a unique
opportunity to the participants to test their musical mettle against
other world-class players, and also offers networking opportunities.

They have the chance to meet agents and music executives looking
to sign up the next big talent. In Munich, the competition is thefirst major event of the new concert season. From the first round,almost every place in the concert halls is occupied. It creates agreat concert atmosphere and makes it a little more comfortable
for the participants.
The winners will be invited to take part in the chamber music
tour – the Festival of ARD Prize Winners, which was establishedin 2001 and communicates the desire of the ARD International
Music Competition’s administration to transform the obvious
confrontational situation, at least at the end of the event, into theexperience of making music together. With the Festival of ARD
Prize Winners, a concert series has been developed, at whichmusicians (former prizewinners) from all over the world join forces
to rehearse and perform chamber music works in a number of different places. Many of the former prizewinners found long-term
chamber music partners this way.
More detailed information about this competition is available on
our website: www.br.de/ard-musikwettbewerb/index.html

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

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ALEXANDRE DELMAR / CASA DA MÚSICA

COMPETITION PROFILE

Santa Cecilia International Competition is an event with more than 80 years of history.
Based in Porto and organised by the emblematic school Curso de Música Silva Monteiro,
this piano competition will enjoy its 22nd edition on July, 2020.

Santa Cecilia
International Competition
In the past years, it has gained the status of the biggest competition
in Portugal and simultaneously it has been consistently growing in
the international panorama also as a member of Alink-ArgerichFoundation. The competition is divided into two sections: themain category (up to 32) and the junior categories (from 6 to 18).
There are five junior categories, with their own jury, and the performances take place at Fundação Manuel António da Mota, an
important institution of the city. The performances of the maincategory, for participants up to 32 years old, take place at Casa deMúsica, one of the most relevant music venues in Europe. Every
year, hundreds of candidates are received from all over the world,
starting with a video pre-selection. Then, the pre-selected participants come to Porto to compete in two solo rounds and a final
with the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra in the great Sala
Suggia at Casa da Música. Furthermore, a parallel competition isorganised every year in China together with the famous magazine
Piano Art, as a pre-selection for Chinese participants, with hundreds of pianists. The location of the competition (Casa da Música)
is not only of an artistic value but it also allows easy access to any

part of the city, including the airport. All the participants havethe opportunity to practice during the week and have a piano forwarm-up before each performance. The online streaming is available worldwide for the semi-finals and final. With a total prize
money of 20 000 euros, the competition offers the winner the
chance to play solo recitals and concerts with orchestra, a CD
recording and an International Management. To that end, there is
joint collaboration with KNS Classical and KNS Artists Management who work together with the winners. With Álvaro Teixeira
Lopes as its artistic director, the competition has been receiving
prominent personalities for the jury, such as Joaquin Soriano,
Carlos Cebro, Guigla Katsarava, Uta Weyand, Akemi Alink,
Vovka
Ashkenazy and Justas Dvarionas, among many others. The competition has a strong presence in the city with one week of free entry
performances, as well as a piano marathon where all the participants are invited to play a 45-minute recital in one of the mostwww.scecilia-competition.com

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

45

COMPETITION PROFILE

The International
Schubert-Competition
DortmundThe International Schubert-Competition Dortmund was established in 1987
and has been held since then at the heart of the Ruhr, invariably with great success.
It is aimed at young and talented musicians of the very highest professional standard
and is designed to help them as they enter their chosen profession.
Thanks to its programming, the Schubert-Competition also provides a unique opportunity to introduce participants and audiences
to Schubert’s world of ideas. Take, for example, the third competition round which probably offers the only opportunity worldwide
to listen to the six great late Sonatas of Franz Schubert for a wholeday, played by the best young and talented pianists in the world.
The biennial competition leads young musicians to a repertoire,
which decisively enriches them in their artistic range and is often
neglected in the university education and in other music competitions. Several award winners, such as Michael Endres, Elena Margolina, Vadym Kholodenko or Samuel Hasselhorn, started a brilliant
international career after their participation in the Schubert-Competition, even though, or perhaps
precisely because, they spend a
lot of time and effort in the introverted music of Franz Schubert.
The competition additionallyseeks to add to the cultural variety and attractiveness of the
Ruhr and to draw national andinternational attention to the
Esther Valentin (Mezzo soprano)
and Anastasia Grishutina (Piano),first prize winners of the lastLied-Duo competition. Their CD(part of the prize) Amors Spiel –Cupid’s Game, was published
by GWK Records.

region. An important role in this process is played by its high-profile
venue of the Laureate’s Concert: the atmospheric compressor hallof the Hansa Coking Plant, which is a listed building. It is a locationthat means that Dortmund’s International Schubert-Competitionis visibly anchored in a region marked by its former mining industry
and heavy industry.
From September 21 to 30, 2020 the Schubert-Competition will holdits 16th piano edition in Dortmund and will award prizes worth
more than 40,000 euros. Traditionally, the first prize includes a CD
production in addition to the prize money of 10,000 euros. The
competition invites all pianists to face the great challenge of Franz
Schubert in order to gain a great enrichment of artistic development
as well as furthering their careers. As one of the few musiccompetitions in the world, theSchubert-Competition covers
the travel expenses of the competitors and arranges for themto stay with host families, often
resulting in a close, long-term
relationship. The jury of thisyear’s competition includes
Ingeborg Danz, Ian Fountain,
Stefan Heucke, Gabriel Kwok,
Ewa Kupiec, Oleg Maisenberg,
Tamás Ungár, Elisso Virsaladze,
Idith Zvi and the non-voting
chairman Arnulf von Arnim.
www.schubert-wettbewerb.de

THE WORLD OF PIANO COMPETITIONS 1/20

47

COMPETITION PROFILE

Franz Schubertand Modern MusicThe University of Music and Performing Arts Graz has announced
its 11th International Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition,
which will take place from February 6 to 15, 2021.
This triennial chamber music competition will be held in the categories “Lied” (evaluated as a duo) and “Piano Trio”. The string
quartet section will be held again in 2024. Contemporary musicchallenges young musicians to be able to connect to today. At thesame time, the competition also offers the young musicians andthe audience the opportunity to come into contact with a multitude
of contemporary pieces along the way. The competition is committed to being as relevant to participants’ profession and future as
possible, realizing that the profession is competitive in itself andthat a competition therefore reflects everyday professional life.

This competition encourages the creation of new works for thesechamber music categories. For the FS&MM 2021, Judith Weir has
been invited to compose a Lied that has to be performed during
the finals.
The participants, around 200 from 45 nations came to Graz in
2018, as well as the prestigious jury – i.e. Angelika Kirchschlager,
Bengt Forsberg, Roberta Alexander, and Elena Cheah – illustrate
the quality of this competition.
relaunch-schubert.kug.ac.at

1st Prize
30 000 euro

12–20 September 2020 • Bergen, Norway
A unique opportunity to experience Grieg’s world of inspiration
in Bergen, and to win the 1st Prize of 30.000 euro.
Apply before 20 April 2020
Sign up at griegcompetition.com

is a unique three-monthly magazine, published in seven countries in two special editions
with different contents: one in German for Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxemburg
and Liechtenstein and one in Dutch for the Netherlands and Belgium. The magazine is also
distributed in controlled circulation in Eastern Europe with other European countries
planned for the future.
Each issue includes interviews with leading pianists and rising talent, news, features,
analysis, reviews and comment. We also publish in-depth articles on piano recordings andrepertoire, piano brands, retailers, master classes on piano technique and interpretation,
reports from festivals, competitions, and so on.
Our German edition was launched five years ago at the request of the
Ruhr Piano Festival, and we maintain a close cooperation with the festival.
www.pianistmagazine.nl

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PRESIDENT STEINWAY & SONS EUROPE

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1st prize piano 2017

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piano duo 2015

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