AAF-2026

Preface It was an amazing year for the Piano Competition World. At the same time, many politicians have constantly been travelling around, trying to establish some stability in the world around us. A vast majority of all people want to live in peace. Our thoughts are with all those who became victim of the ongoing hostilities. Classical Music is truly a wonderful gift. Making music and listening to music is very much needed and brings people together. Competitions provide a platform and opportunities for musicians, where we can hear magnificent performances.

The year 2025 was full of important international piano competitions: the famous Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, the Cliburn, Beethoven, Honens and many more. On page 6, some of the highlights and remarkable happenings are described. The overview on pages 40-44 clearly shows that almost all competitions require a video recording and carry out a preselection of contestants. We also see more and more that after an initial application fee, another participation fee is requested. At some competitions only a drastically reduced number of pianists may come to the live final rounds of the competition. In most cases, there are different jury panels for each phase. While the number of applicants for major competitions has been going up to new records, some of the organisers of other competitions are struggling to keep their events alive. There are many competitions for pianists to choose from. They also spend much time and money in the preselection phase (preparing a perfect video or travelling to an audition site). It is amazing to see that some pianists manage to take part in several competitions in a row. Understandably, they try to make use of every opportunity. This e-catalogue contains a huge amount of details and information about the competitions. We make every effort to keep it up-to-date. This year, the 4 th AAF Conference will take place in Porto (Portugal)! We are very grateful to the Santa Cecilia Competition and Casa de Música for co-hosting this event. It will be held 25-26 June, the two days between the competition’s semifinals (Chamber Music) and finals (with orchestra). Important topics will be discussed (see also page 67). It will be again a unique opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the Piano World. We look forward very much to seeing you there!

Gustav Alink

Alink-Argerich Foundation 2026