AAF-2025

2025

The year 2025 promises to be an amazing year, full of international piano competitions. Already in January: the US ASU Bösendorfer and Yamaha competitions in Tempe (AZ, USA) with Martha Argerich on the jury as well as performing in one of the concerts, together with competition organiser Baruch Meir. In February, the Schubert & Modern Music Competition in Graz (Austria) will be open for piano duos. One week later, the fifth International Schumann Competition for Young Pianists will be held in Düsseldorf. Amsterdam will host the 2 nd European YPF Competition. March invites to attend the Vladigerov Competition in Sofia or to be at the competition in Aarhus (Denmark) or Hilton Head (USA). The second half of March is packed with competitions that are partly overlapping. Two Bach competitions in Germany: Leipzig and Saarbrücken. Before these finish, the competitions in Kronberg, Dortmund and Epinal will start. At the same time, other pianists will travel to compete in Barcelona ( Maria Canals ) or Paris ( Long-Thibaud ). Young aspiring pianists can have the chance to have their pianistic skills evaluated by Martha Argerich who will be again on the jury at the Jeune Chopin Competition in Lugano. In April another focus on young pianists at the first PSIPC in Palm Springs (CA, USA) and the Brin d’Herbe competition for contemporary music in Orléans (France). Vigo (Spain) is open to all pianists, without age limits. In April/May, the piano world will be filled with excitement about the live auditions of the world-famous Chopin competition in Warsaw, the Queen Elisabeth competition in Brussels, the Beethoven in Vienna, as well as Dublin and the Cliburn in Fort Worth (TX, USA). They can also be followed by the excellent webcasts. The stakes at these renowned competitions are high. Above all there is the prestige and fame of winning, but also a huge value of the awards, such as the US$ 100,000 first prize at the Cliburn followed by concert engagements all over the world. In Vienna, the first prize includes a brandnew Bösendorfer grand piano. In June, much of our attention will be on Spain and Portugal, where the competitions in Valencia ( Iturbi ), Malaga, Porto ( Santa Cecilia ) and Lleida ( Ricard Viñes ) will take place. At the same time, Sendai (Japan) will have the 9 th edition of the competition, where Yuja Wang won 3 rd prize in 2001. In August, pianists will still have a chance to take part in the Rosario Marciano competition in Vienna and to perform in the Ehrbar Saal. A climax of this pianistic year will be reached in October, when the 19 th Chopin Competition will take place in Warsaw, overlapping with the Hong Kong IPC, the Olga Kern IPC in Albuquerque (NM, USA) and the Honens in Calgary (Canada). Before the year is over, we may come back to Poland for the Paderewski Competition or travel to Rome, Roubaix, Manchester or Paris (another highly dotated Chopin competition).

Alink-Argerich Foundation 2025