The International Piano Performance Competition

Our Goal: to discover, evaluate and stimulate the instrumental performance and creativity in young pianists. The structure of this competition is unique, based on age, and frequency (every year).

Our Objectives:

• Achieving a level of professional competition, a mandatory and necessary part of artistic training
• Evaluating the level of our national music school in the international context
• Experience artistic exchange between the international music schools
• Promoting a positive image for our country, through offering the competitors the chance to visit, discover and create beautiful memories in our country

The Structure:

Our piano interpretation competition has 4 sections, A, B, C & D, the last one consisting on four hands performances (on the same piano). A & B sections will have 4 and 8 categories, based strictly on age, where each year represents a category. The reason for this detailed structure is the final evaluation that must be as accurate as possible, and according to the real artistic value of the competitors.

What is Special About this Competition?

As we already mentioned above, the originality of this competition lies in the structure of the categories and subdivisions. Here are more details about the 4 main sections: section A is for participants between 6-10 years old, section B for 10-18 years old, section C for 19 years old, and up to 30 years, while the last section, D is for all ages,  4 hands scores (played at the same piano).

The number of stages for each section varies: A& D – one stage, B – two stages, and C- three stages.
The last category, D, for 4 hands, has only one stage, but it is an interesting & original addition, that does not exist elsewhere.
The evaluation system is greatly improved, compared with other international competitions where competitors of different age are included in the same section; thus the participants have the opportunity of getting a fair evaluation
The awards system include: one Grand Prize, 5 prizes for each category (including ex-aequo, if necessary), and many special and sponsor’s prizes.

Venues: The first 14 editions of the competition took place in the following locations: „Auditorium” – National Museum of Art, „Dinu Lipatti” Music School, „ArCuB” and Romanian Athenaeum (in the month of June of each year).

The number of participants gathered over the first 14 editions is over 1,900, from 31 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Korea, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Jordan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Rep. Moldova,  Poland, Russia, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, USA, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Uzbekistan and Romania. The 2nd edition was the largest so far, with 190 valuable competitors.

The Jury is composed of outstanding personage active in the Romanian or international musical world. They are pianists, musicologists and composers from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Portugal, USA and Romania.
The expected results: finding unique talents, selecting, and helping to launch their national and international career. All Grand Prize winners are now successfully integrated in the international musical life. Below are just a few examples: Alexandru Timofeev- Rep. Moldova(1997)
Anca Lacea – Romania(1998)
Lucian Velciu – Romania(2001)
Mariusz Adamczak-Polonia(2002)
Sebastian Shwan-Romania(2003)
Kana Kashihara – Japonia(2008).

Marika BOURNAKI – Montreal/Canada	Ionut HERGANE – Resita/Romania
Kana Kashihara – Japonia (The big prize 2008)

Videoclip to the address:  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xab8×9_theodor-dumitru-on-bucharest-music

II. The International Composition Competition

Through the composition section (with various themes), we are aiming to stimulate the creativity in young musicians. This process will enrich their musical knowledge with elements of harmony, counterpoint and musical analysis, all of which are necessary in the creative process.

First edition, in 2011 will take place in 2 sub-sections, based on age:

• up to 19 years old
• between 19 -30 years old

Obiectives:

• To promote and stimulate youth creativity
• To discover, award and promote the best musical compositions in the best possible
• To enrich the national & international piano repertoire, especially for the first category, with valuable musical creations

Awards: I, II, III, and special prizes,  for each category (total of 4 sets).

The jury: will be composed of famous personalities of Romanian musical life.