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MUSIC COMPETITIONSIN FOCUSThe thrilling world of classical music’s greatest contests

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BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE 55

WELCOME

Founded in 1957 by 13 European competitions, The World Federation of International Music Competitions today comprises a variety of members spread across 40 countries.

Our member competitions all seek to reward complete artists. However, we want to celebrate much more than a perfect performance and prize money. Through competitions, musicians build stamina, prepare vast quantities of repertoire and learn to handle public interest.

WFIMC competitions provide young competitors with the opportunity to hear one another and to find their place among their peers. Entering the right competition at the right time with sufficient preparation and a strong artistic statement can open doors that would otherwise remain closed.Benjamin WoodroffeSecretary General, World Federation of International Music Competitions

A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE YEARAs 2018 gets into full swing, we take a look at the major World Federation of International Music Competitions events that are taking place at venues across the globe over the next few months

thinking and innovation are guaranteed at this groundbreaking event which, since its first edition in 1994, has set its repertoire focus exclusively on works written after 1900 – an approach that has attracted entries from young musicians open to new music and adventurous programming. It has created a fund to support what it describes as ‘the birth of the next generation of artists’, providing financial assistance for prestigious concert tours, masterclasses, recordings and other career development opportunities. Orléans has helped laureates record everything from new works by Matthias Pintscher and Olga Neuwirth to music

for piano and electronics by Jonathan Harvey, John Cage, Pierre Jodlowski, Luc Ferrari and Luigi Nono.

Talking of Nono, viola jokes will definitely be a ‘no no’ when the Primrose International Viola Competition takes place at the Colburn School in Los Angeles from 10-16 June. This event, founded in 1979 by the American Viola Society, has flourished in the four years since it came under the care of the Colburn School and its president and CEO Sel Kardan. Membership of the Federation, he notes, has played a significant part in the widening of the competition’s international reach and raising its profile as a landmark event for the viola profession. Kardan and his Colburn colleagues have also worked hard to connect Los Angeles concertgoers

to the competition, part of the process of introducing solo viola to new audiences and challenging old views about the instrument.

Violinists, cellists and string chamber groups, meanwhile, will head to Harbin for the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition this summer. Its fourth edition, based in China’s far northeast, runs from 18-30 July. ‘The competition is relatively new to our audience,’ notes Schoenfeld competition director of operations Yeung-ping Chan. ‘People here see what we do as a rare international event. It’s meaningful because of that. They want to know more about the music and can see how the competition is helping to revitalise the city’s cultural landscape.’

And now down to the lowest strings. Ludwigslust and its former royal palace, the ‘Versailles of the North’, is the place for young double-bassists to be from 22-29 July. The north German town, around 70 miles from Hamburg, is gearing up for the tenth International JM Sperger Competition for Double Bass, a biennial event inspired by and dedicated to the work of the eponymous 18th-century bass virtuoso. Contestants begin by playing two contrasting movements from one of four Sperger sonatas and a new work by jury member Emil Tabakov; repertoire recommendations for subsequent rounds span the gamut from Bach and Bottesini to Tubin and Vasks. Former laureates include Gunars Upatnieks and Michael Karg, who are now colleagues in the Berlin Philharmonic.

September is a notably busy time for Federation members, and even the most determined of competition followers would struggle to catch the finals of the month’s

J ournalists, educators, concert promoters and members of the World Federation of International Music Competitions gathered

in London in February for the press launch of the Federation’s 62nd General Assembly, scheduled to take place at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow from 5-8 April. The meeting, held at the Caledonian Club, announced details of the Glasgow event’s agenda, including its programme of plenary sessions and closing-day excursion for Federation members. Its General Assembly is set to reflect the organisation’s growing reach and reinforce its role in promoting the highest standards in music competitions worldwide.

Such standards will doubtless be in evidence at the Orléans International Piano Competition, which takes place from 8-18 March. Forward

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Bowing for gold: Sergei Dogadin, winner of the

International Joseph Joachim Competition in 2015

Recorded benefit: Matthias Pintscher’s music has been supported by the Orléans International Piano Competition

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The Federation promotes the highest standards in competitions worldwide

main prizes. The Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada, and the 52nd International Singing Competition of Toulouse both name their winners on 8 September, while the International Organ Competition ‘Grand Prix de Chartres’ (France), and the International Edvard Grieg Competition in Bergen (Norway), are set to swell the laureate list the following day. The Princess Astrid International Music Competition – long established in Trondheim, Norway, but only a recent addition to the Federation’s membership books – concludes on 13 September. The rush continues two days later with the finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition and the 52nd International Singing Competition of ’s-Hertogenbosch (Holland), and again on 16 September at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Munich’s ARD International Music Competition and Bucharest’s George Enescu International Competition crown the sequence respectively on 21 and 23 September.

Lower Saxony in Germany is ready to receive visiting music industry professionals, from leading journalists and managers to conductors and concert promoters, for the next Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover from 11-27 October. Its past laureates include Antje Weithaas, Nemanja Radulović, New York Philharmonic concertmaster Frank Huang, rising stars Sergei Dogadin and Alexandra Conunova-Dumortier and many others who are making their way

as concerto soloists, chamber musicians or orchestral leaders. The Joseph Joachim’s appeal to top-flight contestants lies as much in its attention to detail and reputation for fairness as in a heavyweight prize package comprising international concert dates, introductions to artist managers and a CD recording with orchestra.

Professor Krzysztof Wegrzyn, founder and artistic director of the Joseph Joachim

Competition, launched the event’s first edition in 1991. As a former violin competition laureate, he knew the pros and cons of competitive music-making and wanted to create a structure that placed young musicians at his competition’s heart. He set the inaugural event’s first prize at DM50,000 (£17,000), double that of any other international competition, and continued the trend the following decade by raising the stakes to €50,000 (£44,000). ‘I knew that young musicians could not expect to be paid as much as footballers or tennis players,’ he recalls. ‘But they experience similar psychological pressures, so you can never support them enough.’

Paris was under enemy occupation when a group of young musicians, including the

pianist Samson François and violinist Michèle Auclair, entered the first ever Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in 1943. The event survived the war years to become a founding member of the Federation and launch the careers of such outstanding international artists as Aldo Ciccolini, Jean-Philippe Collard, Christian Ferras, Peter Frankl, Pascal Rogé and Vladimir Spivakov. Its reach broadened in 2011 when, in tribute to the great French soprano Régine Crespin, it opened its doors to singers as well as pianists and violinists. Rebranded as the Long-Thibaud-Crespin International Competition, it has been revitalised under its board of directors, including former violin prize laureate and jury president Rénaud Capuçon.

The next Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition, for violinists up to the age of 30, starts with the first of two eliminatory rounds on 2 November and concludes with the concerto finals on 9 and 10 November. Those who make it to Paris for the competition proper will have survived a series of pre-selection rounds, to be held during May in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo and New York. Their progress will depend on performances of a set list of works selected from the core of the recital and concerto repertoire, judged by Capuçon and jury team comprising violinists including Alena Baeva, Kolja Blacher, James Ehnes, Jean-Jacques Kantorow and Maxim Vengerov, plus Verbier Festival founder Martin T:son Engstroem and conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier.

Since being upgraded to city status in 1911, Hamamatsu has become a powerhouse of Japan’s industrial base, known worldwide for its production of musical instruments and motorcycles. The biennial Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, launched in 1991 to mark the city’s 80th birthday, celebrates its tenth edition from 7-25 November with an event open to 100 competitors. The London-based Japanese pianist Noriko Ogawa, whose international performing career soared after her prize-winning performance in the 1987 Leeds International Competition, will make her debut as the Hamamatsu’s jury chair.

‘Hamamatsu is the perfect place for a piano competition and, being the birthplace of all “made in Japan” pianos, we naturally have a wealth of excellent instruments to support all competitors’ needs,’ Ogawa observes. ‘Every piano will be carefully maintained by skilled technicians around the clock. That level of service and dedication, together with Japanese hospitality, means we can promise every competitor a memorable experience.’ Many of the competition’s contestants will give concerts in the community during their stay in Hamamatsu. ‘My greatest ambition,’ declares Ogawa, ‘is that this competition will help many pianists fly high in their careers.’

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‘This competition will help many pianists fly high in their careers’

Taking a key role: pianist Noriko Ogawa, jury chair of

the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition

DEVELOPING TALENTSo you’ve won a competition… now what? Why competitions have to be aware that winners’ careers need to be carefully managed

Maurizio Pollini made headline news in 1960 as winner of Warsaw’s International Chopin Piano

Competition. The 18-year-old Italian was lionised by Arthur Rubinstein, who told his fellow jurors: ‘That boy plays better than any of us’. Pollini accepted a string of dates that came with his Chopin prize but soon realised he had yet to mature as an artist. He withdrew from the concert scene, took lessons from Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, and applied himself to study works by a handful of composers, Beethoven and Schumann among them. He returned to the stage only when ready.

While much has changed since then, the moral of Pollini’s tale has not. Like most young

musicians, he needed time to develop; unlike many, he was prepared to seek advice from experienced professionals, to wait before leaping onto the career rollercoaster. The

wisdom of Pollini’s approach contrasts with the fate of those who have won prestigious competitions, burned brightly for a few years and then vanished from the concert scene. Competition organisers worldwide are now

working to manage their prize-winners’ expectations, helping them navigate early hazards on the road to a professional career.

The International Franz Liszt Competition in the Netherlands, in common with most members of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, organises worldwide concerts for its laureates. It also offers masterclasses for emerging keyboard talents – those who might compete for the Liszt prize in future – as part of a holistic career development scheme for first-class pianists. ‘We started this programme because we noticed a decline in the way the music industry was taking care of young talent,’ says Liszt Competition director Rob Hilberink.

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Pollini needed time before leaping onto the career rollercoaster

In his own time: the young Maurizio Pollini did not rush into a concert career

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presentations given by an artist manager, a promoter and a record company’s A&R manager. ‘We were able to get across the way in which the professional world sees young artists and what it expects of them.’ Hilberink agrees that the music profession can learn from young artists, members of a generation facing challenges unimagined by those now in positions of power and influence within classical music. The mentoring workshops, he suggests, provide a space for dialogue as well as instruction.

‘My experience is that you can tell young musicians what’s going to happen and what they should do, but they learn most from first-hand experience. That’s why we have them travel to the other side of the world and deal with playing a concert while jet-lagged. We’re constantly in touch, talking to them about what

they need and how they want to do things. Sometimes people become more enthusiastic with every experience; sometimes they discover that the life of a travelling musician is not for them.’

Another competition’s career development programme clearly suited Pavel Kolesnikov. The Russian-born artist, winner of the 2012 Honens International Piano Competition, recalls how the organisation used its financial and human resources to support him at a crucial time. ‘It was a very important step for me and a wonderful experience,’ says Kolesnikov. ‘Not much was prearranged, because they did not know what the winner would need, but we worked together as a team over three years.’

Kolesnikov explains that Honens helped him secure an agent and opened the door to his

first Hyperion recording. ‘I was not rushed to find a manager; in fact, they pulled me back from approaching agents for a long time. I also had time to build contacts with promoters on different continents and, of course, I met Mike Spring from Hyperion. He was on the jury and invited me to record after the competition.’ Although surprised by the offer, the young pianist proposed an all-Tchaikovsky album and saw it through to its critically acclaimed release. Honens, meanwhile, promoted landmark recitals for Kolesnikov at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall and other major venues.

Didier Schnorhk, secretary general of the Geneva International Music Competition, believes that front-rank competitions must do more than award prizes. As president of the World Federation of International

Music Competitions, he speaks for the global family of competitions and on behalf of their competitors. The history of competitions, he notes, contains many examples of prize-winning musicians who have struggled to build a solo career. ‘There are many dangers for young musicians. The first thing we do in Geneva is to find concert opportunities for our laureates, but that’s often not enough. Some of them are already performing concertos or recitals every week. But others, especially those who are in their teens, need to continue their studies and pass their degrees. Only one or two competition winners in every decade will make a career immediately. The rest need to be carefully prepared for life as a solo artist.’

Geneva winners receive a minimum of two years’ support following the competition,

which can be extended if required. ‘Offering concerts and recordings, which we began doing about 15 years ago, was the first step for our career development programme,’ recalls Didier Schnorhk. ‘Last year we added a week of mentoring workshops for our laureates in Geneva. It’s not only the recent winners who can benefit from this: we have invited people from five or six years ago, who were very young when they won and are still young today. It’s about helping them become more prepared for a career. I’m very proud of this initiative. We need to find funds to support this week of mentoring each year but see it as a good investment. Our aim is to help these incredible young musicians and take care of them. We want to give them time and space to grow, to be ready.’

Whereas record companies, promoters and agents once invested over the long term to develop the next generation of performers, the present trend favours short-term success and quick financial returns.

Competition winners can, without care, be propelled unprepared into a tough business, a high-stakes game that often races ahead of an individual’s artistic and emotional development. ‘Within the three years between competitions, we try to give our laureates as much experience as possible, to discover what it’s like to play to different audiences in different

places around the world,’ notes Hilberink. ‘It’s a custom-made programme, built around the needs of each of our three winners.’

In effect, the Liszt Competition functions as an artist management, securing concert opportunities; a publicist, developing its laureates’ public image; and as a professional mentor. ‘Just after last October’s competition, we arranged a series of workshops for our prize-winners,’ Hilberink recalls. ‘These included media training, to help them communicate the points they wish to make and answer the same questions they’ll get from every journalist.’

The mentoring package included radio training, complete with simulated live and recorded interviews, and a day of professional

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The mentoring workshops provide a space for dialogue

Winning form: (left to right) Mengjie Han, Peter Klimo and Mariam Batsashvili with Queen Maxima of The Netherlands at the 10th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition; (above) pianist Pavel Kolesnikov benefited from three years of guidance after the Honens

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CROWD PLEASERSWith so much talent, music competitions are exciting to watch. We take a look at how they are reaching out to new audiences

In ancient Greece, musical contests elevated audiences to euphoria and ecstasy, fear and frenzy. Such emotions remain

among the checklist of possible responses to today’s music competitions, usually triggered by heated disputes over jury verdicts or partisan passions for participants. Yet the audience experience is more often confined to fine degrees of approval, higher for one competitor, lower for another, a sage nod here, a knowing wink there. The old model,

Unisa International Piano Competition, a triennial event for classical pianists. Unisa, notes Devroop, was determined that its jazz competitors should be measured by the highest standards, a match for those expected of the classical competition’s participants: ‘I feared we wouldn’t attract jazz pianists who were at the same level as our classical competitors. But our six finalists were all accomplished classical pianists who’d switched to jazz.’

The twin competitions’ first rounds, held within three days, created a festival atmosphere. Their organisers expected the conservative tastes of Pretoria’s concertgoers to prevail. ‘Instead we found a real change of audience perception,’ recalls Devroop. ‘Our jazz venue was sold out for the first time in the city’s history for the competition’s final round. I wondered whether this was our classical fans coming out of loyalty, but we received unprecedented feedback from them praising

by which audiences follow a gradual process of elimination, is shifting towards a new form of competition, one open to the reach of hi-tech communications and old-school conversation, in which people learn about the competitors, their lives and their music.

The World Federation of International Music Competitions is on a mission to change the terms of audience engagement. It encourages members to recharge their followers with the fervour and excitement of music made in the

the quality of the performers and the music. And then they came to our jazz series at Unisa, which had always drawn tiny audiences. We’ve seen this incredible crossover of classical audiences at jazz concerts; it’s something we never envisaged.’

Devroop reports a steady stream, if not a flood, of jazz fans attending Unisa’s classical concerts and competitions. ‘Our jazz attendees like the feel of jazz, but they’ve come to appreciate our classical artists too. For the first time, we’re seeing this big shift in our audience.’ The proximity of the classical and jazz competitions, he adds, propelled audiences from

one camp to the other. ‘They’re much more open to different kinds of music now. That’s a big change for this city and fantastic for us.’

Introducing new audiences to the high-wire thrills of competitions is a priority for competition organisers. Idith Zvi, artistic director of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society in Tel Aviv, observes that the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition has no difficulty attracting crowds. Their rising average age, however, is a concern. She argues that a single arts organisation can only do so much to draw a younger demographic to its work, and is adamant that responsibility for educating people about classical music rests with national government.

While the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society works hard to reach young people through schools concerts and outreach

projects, it is unable to plug holes in Israel’s music education system. ‘I’ve been screaming about this for years,’ says Zvi. While she’s waiting for an answer, she continues to spread the word about her competition via a network of personal contacts. ‘I try to be on a personal basis with so many people, to use all possible media to reach them and be available to everyone who wants to know about us.’

The direct approach, whether delivered in the flesh or via social media, has served the Rubinstein Competition well. Its two final rounds were shown last year on large outdoor screens in Israel’s north, south and central regions. These, presented in partnership with the nation’s conservatories, allowed young musicians, their friends and family to vote on the final contestants. ‘We took one of the six prize-winners to play a recital at their conservatories and brought around 40 conservatory students to the competition’s first stage.’

Cultivating community spirit stands high on the agenda for this year’s Leeds International Piano Competition. The next edition culminates in Leeds in September, following first rounds in Berlin, Singapore and New York this April. Adam Gatehouse notes that he and joint artistic director, pianist Paul Lewis, have worked hard to extend the competition’s audience. ‘We want to be more outward-facing and reach a whole swathe of people we’ve never reached before,’ he explains. Partnerships with the Hallé orchestra, Wigmore Hall, artist management Askonas Holt and local stakeholders – from Leeds City Council and Leeds University to regional business organisations – have boosted their outreach campaign.

The first Leeds Piano Festival, launched this May at Wigmore Hall and the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, will open another audience entrypoint. In addition to recitals by such Leeds laureates as Lars Vogt and Sunwook Kim, the festival includes performances by three Lang Lang International Music Foundation Young Scholars. ‘We’re working with our partners to get the message out as far as possible,’ says Gatehouse. ‘The days where one could present something like this in splendid isolation are long gone. We’re looking to provide access for all to the instrument, to revitalise interest in the piano, with the competition as the pinnacle of a pyramid of work.’

The Leeds Competition will receive extensive coverage on television, radio and the internet, including a live broadcast of the finals on BBC Radio 3 and a televised presentation from the finals to be shown on BBC Four a week after the event. Classic FM will carry regular competition bulletins featuring interviews with competitors and judges and audience vox pops, while Medici.tv, the leading online platform for classical concerts, is set to undertake what Gatehouse describes as an

moment by young artists. Above all, it wants to make listening an active condition, connected to head and heart.

Karendra Devroop, director of the Unisa National and International Music Competitions, based at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in Pretoria, praises the positive virtues of an audience-building initiative inspired by the prominence of jazz in South African culture. It started with the decision to run a jazz piano competition in tandem with the 2016

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Capturing the action:US pianist Sean Chen enjoys success at the 2013 Van Cliburn competition; (opposite) Karendra Devroop, director of the Unisa National and International Music Competitions

Introducing audiences to the high-wire thrills of competitions is a priority

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‘absolutely vital’ collaboration with the Leeds. ‘Their reach extends to over 110 countries,’ he notes. ‘Medici has a whole infrastructure in place, using social media to target existing and potential audiences for classical music. I am confident they can attract large numbers to follow the competition’s online stream.’

Jenny Rogers, director of learning and engagement at the Leeds, underlines the event’s mission to introduce people to the piano. ‘I want all ages and all communities to connect with the instrument,’ she says. Children, aged eight to nine, from schools across the city will be bussed to Leeds Town Hall in May for The Piano Fantasia, a specially adapted version of pianist, composer and entertainer Will Pickvance’s acclaimed Anatomy of the Piano show. ‘It will speak to the music curriculum and be a lot of fun, with interactive elements, storytelling, animations and live filming from inside the piano.’

The organisation’s all-encompassing strategy extends to events in schools, hospitals, care homes, day centres and hospices. A trail of pianos sited around Leeds, together with the

power of traditional broadcasting. National audiences tuned in to its first radio broadcast in 1937 and have followed its live television broadcasts since 1972. Over the past 40 years, the Queen Elisabeth Competition has been a prime time fixture in Belgian television schedules. Its reach extended worldwide in 2001 when, thanks to a partnership with Belgacom, the competition became one of the first to offer online streaming.

Nicolas Dernoncourt, the competition’s artistic coordinator, exaggerates only slightly when he claims that everyone in Belgium knows about the Queen Elisabeth. ‘We reach 1.2 million national viewers,’ he notes. ‘Television plays a big part in our audience engagement.’ The competition’s brand recognition also gains from the network of families who play host to competitors, many of them located in rural communities beyond the busy Brussels Ring. ‘I was introduced to classical music as a child by the Queen Elisabeth Competition’s television broadcasts. We’re very lucky because of the devoted television teams involved. But the broadcasters,

revival of the city’s pub piano competition, is also on the cards. ‘We want the piano trail instruments to be played – not just to be street furniture,’ says Rogers. ‘Some of our competitors will perform on them and we’ll invite jury members to play too. And we’ll work with community groups, adult learners and young people, to introduce them to the components of music. It’s about opening up classical music, breaking down assumptions that you need a PhD to understand Beethoven.’

Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Van Cliburn Competition and treasurer of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, calls on competitions to do everything possible to expose new audiences to classical music. ‘That starts with reaching young kids, then young adults,’ he comments. ‘After that, we want to connect with people who would not necessarily come to the Cliburn. Preaching to the choir is easy, but we have to get to those who may like piano but are unsure about classical concerts.’

The Cliburn, adds Marquis, presents over 250 school concerts a year, introducing children

like everywhere, face financial cuts and restrictions, so we give constant attention to the quality of what we offer our audiences in the hall, on air and online.’

Munich’s ARD International Music Competition, among the World Federation’s founding members, emerged as the post-war offspring of Germany’s public service broadcasting network. Like the Queen Elisabeth, the ARD competition reaches a national audience through television broadcasts. It also receives generous coverage on Bavarian Radio

(BR). ‘We’re lucky because our competition is at the beginning of the concert season, which means we attract a large audience to the Herkulessaal,’ notes Elisabeth Kozik, managing director of the ARD International Music Competition. ‘Our online audience is slowly developing. Of course it’s very small compared to our television and radio audiences, but the internet helps us reach new people.’

While the ARD competition has no bespoke audience development programme, Kozik and her team have forged strong links with Munich’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater and Bavaria’s music schools. ‘We aim to attract young students who may be thinking of entering. We also reach younger audiences through BR Klassik’s youth programmes. They work closely with us to make short videos about the competition for social media and our website and help us spread the word to young people.’

The Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (MICMC) benefits from the close relationship between its promoter, Musica Viva Australia, and ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Company). Hywel Sims, general manager for Musica Viva in Victoria, notes that the two organisations are committed to delivering top-quality performances to audiences in metropolitan areas and remote rural communities. ‘The ABC brings a level of reach that we could never achieve even with online streaming,’ he says. ‘A national broadcaster provides a unique stamp of authority and expertise. We’re also helped by 3MBS in Melbourne, part of Australia’s chain of independent radio stations. Radio is still very much central to people’s lives here.’

ABC Classic FM will broadcast the semi-finals and finals from Melbourne this July. ‘We’re delighted we can bring this competition to a national audience,’ says Richard Buckham, content manager of the network’s new live music strand. ‘Classic Live embodies ABC Classic FM’s strengthened commitment to regular world-class, live Australian concert performances, such as those from the MICMC.’ Equity and access, observes Hywel Sims, belong to the Melbourne competition’s first principles, ideals that shape its direction. Affordable tickets for the under-30s and discount schemes for teachers, he notes, serve the competition’s open-access aims. ‘That’s important for our next generation of competitors and their audience,’ he adds. ‘We’ve also tried to make the cost of coming to the competition accessible for senior citizens. Our audience engagement team works to ensure that the experience of being at the hall is as entertaining and enjoyable as possible.’

to live music-making, unplugged and present, not wired and virtual. ‘We’re opening young people to something that’s so different from what they see onscreen.’ A related theatrical programme, Van Cliburn: An American Hero, has played to around 60,000 fourth graders since its first outing at Fort Worth’s Bass Hall in 2014; the competition, meanwhile, has extended its community reach through Cliburn in the Community concerts, given during week-long residencies by outstanding emerging artists, and through free concerts at the Central Library, the Cliburn Sessions at the downtown Scat Jazz Lounge, and themed festivals.

Last year’s Cliburn competition made its mark in the community with a giant-screen simulcast, presented to a capacity crowd in Fort Worth’s Grand Plaza, and online with performances streamed live in partnership with Medici. ‘The key thing is to bring people together,’ comments Jacques Marquis. ‘It’s about demystifying the music, to show that it’s for all.’

The Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, which alternates annually between piano, violin and cello, draws from the enduring

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‘It’s about demystifying the music, to show that it’s for everyone’

Reaching out: the jury at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition for cello; (opposite) Queen Elisabeth finalists Santiago Canon-Valencia, Victor Julien-Laferriere and Yuya Okamoto

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MARCH20185-11PINEROLO ITALYInternational Chamber Music Competition ‘Pinerolo e Torino – Città metropolitana’● Chamber MusicDeadline passed

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22-29LUDWIGSLUST GERMANYInternational J.M. Sperger Competition● Double BassApply by 1 April

25 July – 5 AugSANTANDER SPAINPaloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition ● PianoDeadline passed

AUGUST20188-16JEJU SOUTH KOREAJeju International Brass and Percussion Competition● Brass and PercussionDeadline passed

21-31BOLZANO ITALYFerruccio Busoni International Piano Competition● PianoApply by 1 May

25 Aug – 9 SepCHARTRES FRANCEInternational Organ Competition ‘Grand Prix de Chartres’ ● OrganApply by 15 April

30 Aug – 8 SepCALGARY CANADAHonens International Piano Competition ● PianoDeadline passed

31 Aug – 16 SepINDIANAPOLIS USAInt’l Violin Competition of Indianapolis ● ViolinDeadline passed

SEPTEMBER20181-9BERGEN NORWAYThe International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition ● PianoApply by 20 Apri

1-23BUCHAREST ROMANIAGeorge Enescu International Competition● Piano, Violin, Cello, CompositionApply by 15 April

3-8TOULOUSE FRANCEInternational Singing Competition of Toulouse● VoiceApply by 17 May

3-21MÜNICH GERMANYARD International Music Competition● Voice, Viola, Trumpet, Piano TrioApply by 31 March

6-15LEEDS UKLeeds International Piano Competition ● PianoDeadline passed

7-15‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH NETHERLANDS

Int’l Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch ● VoiceApply by 12 April

10-13TRONDHEIM NORWAYPrincess Astrid International Music Competition ● ConductingApply by 10 May

18-23DÜSSELDORF GERMANYThe Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments● Bassoon, Horn, OboeApply by 30 April

20-30VIENNA AUSTRIAThe Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition

● ViolinApply by 15 June

24-29ALESSANDRIA ITALYAlessandria International Guitar Competition ● GuitarApply by 31 August

24-30DORTMUND GERMANYInternational Schubert Competition● Duo for Voice and PianoApply by 30 April

29 Sep – 7 OctTOKYO JAPANInternational Oboe Competition of Japan● OboeApply by 13 March

OCTOBER20187-13MONZA ITALYRina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition● PianoApply by 10 April

8-14TOKYO JAPANTokyo International Music Competition for Conducting● ConductingApply by 1 May

11-27HANNOVER GERMANYJoseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover● ViolinApply by 30 May

20-27VERCELLI ITALYGian Battista Viotti Int’l Music Competition● VoiceApply by 22 July

27 Oct – 4 NovTONGYEONG SOUTH KOREAYsangyun Competition● CelloApply by 10 July

27 Oct – 14 NovGENEVA SWITZERLANDGeneva International Music Competition● Piano, ClarinetApply by 4 May

30 Oct – 10 NovWEIMAR GERMANYInternational Franz Liszt Competition● PianoApply by 15 March

30 Oct – 10 NovPORCIA ITALYInternational Competition ‘Città di Porcia’ ● TrumpetVisit website

NOVEMBER20181-10PARIS FRANCELong-Thibaud-Crespin International Contest● ViolinApply by 15 March

8-18EINDHOVEN NETHERLANDSTROMP Int’l Percussion Competition Eindhoven● PercussionApply by 1 May

8-25HAMAMATSU JAPANHamamatsu International Piano Competition● PianoApply by 15 April

10-16VINA DEL MAR CHILEInternational Musical Competition ‘Dr Luis Sigall’● VoiceApply by 17 July

26 Nov – 1 DecMANCHESTER UKRNMC James Mottram Int’l Piano Competition ● PianoApplication deadline TBA

Below you’ll find details of World Federation of International Music Competitions taking place over the next 12 months

Spectacular setting: a rehearsal at Bucharest’s Romanian Atheneum, before the 2014 George Enescu International Competition

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