AAF-2022

Many competitions … From the graph on the opposite page, it can be seen that there was a strong increase of competitions until the year 2002. It looks like an exponential growth. People spoke of an explosion of competitions. The peak was reached in 2002: in that year not less than 336 international piano competitions (for solo pianists) took place*. Interestingly, after 2002, the amount of competitions decreased and lingered around 300 for many years. An explanation for this could be a certain level of saturation and also the effect of the economical crisis. However, in 2017, a large amount of new competitions emerged and the number suddenly jumped to a new record of nearly 350 international piano competitions taking place within that same year. Since not all competitions are annual, the total number of existing international piano competitions is much higher. It is a fair estimate that there are at the moment more than 900 international piano competitions worldwide. With some 340 competitions being held within a year, one might think that there are also 340 first prize winners. Actually, this number lies again higher. Although the first prize is not always awarded, there are also quite a few competitions that employ various age categories, especially in France and Italy. Each of these age groups can produce several winners. There has even been an international piano competition with 26 different categories each year! Competitions in Asia can also have many classes (more than 30!) at different levels. Even more prize winners With so many competitions, the pianists have ample choice to enter the event which they consider the most attractive or the best suited, in terms of dates, location and repertoire. In 2009, there was a pianist who managed to take part in 16 international competitions within that year. The total number of applications was even higher. In 2020, the number of competitions dropped dramatically, as more than 160 competitions were cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. It is surprising that more than 150 could still be held. Many of these, however, were online competitions. Already one year later (2021), there were altogether more than 285 international piano competitions being held again. With the sudden rise of online and hybrid competitions, pianists have still more opportunities to apply. They send their best recordings to different places. This is not necessarily a positive development. Some remarks and observations on pages 34-36. *: these numbers are based on the research Gustav Alink did all over the world, focusing on the international competitions. There might still be other competitions that have been overlooked, in which case the numbers are even higher. Peak Ample choice

Alink-Argerich Foundation 2022