The Competition

The first edition of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli International Piano Competition will take place in Brescia, from 20 to the 28 October 2023. The organizer of the Competition is the G.I.A. Association – Giovani Interpreti Associati – APS.

The Competition is open to pianists of all nationalities, born after 28 October 1993. The application for participation in the Competition must be submitted exclusively online.

PRELIMINARY SELECTION

A maximum of 32 (thirty-two) pianists will be admitted to the Competition. The admission to the Competition will be decided by the Pre-selection Commission which will evaluate according to its indisputable judgment; such decision will be notified to the candidates through e-mail within the 30th of March 2023.

The record, whose length must not exceed 15/20 minutes, must contain:

1. The first movement of a Sonate among those of Ludwig van Beethoven or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart;
2. An Etude among those of Fryderyk Chopin;
3. One or more compositions at free choice.

Please remember that the music chosen for the preliminary selection can be also used for the program of the Competition.

ROUNDS

The Competition includes three rounds as a soloist and one final round with orchestra:

1) FIRST ROUND (length between 20 and 25 minutes) – 20th-22nd October 2023
– Two Etudes by Fryderyk Chopin;
– One or more pieces by Fryderyk Chopin, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann.

2) SECOND ROUND (length between 45 and 50 minutes) – 23rd-24th October 2023
– One Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven;
– One or more important pieces at free choice taken by the romantic repertoire;
– A Prelude by Claude Debussy.

Only a maximum of 18 (eighteen) pianists will be admitted to the second round.

3) SEMIFINAL ROUND (length between 50 and 60 minutes) – 25th of October 2023
– One or more important pieces by Claude Debussy or Maurice Ravel;
– One Mazurka by Fryderyk Chopin;
– One or more pieces at free choice.

Only a maximum of 6 (six) pianists will be admitted to the semifinal round.

N.B.: All the pieces must be edited. The same piece cannot be performed during different rounds.

FINAL ROUND

FINAL ROUND with Orchestra – 28th of October 2023

For the Final round, a maximum of 3 (three) pianists will be admitted, who will present two concerts for piano and Orchestra, one from group A and one from group B. The Jury will choose which of the two concerts the candidate will have to perform in the final round.

Group A

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Concert n. 20 KV 466 in D Minor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Concert n. 23 KV 488 in A Major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -Concert n. 25 KV 503 in C Major
Ludwig van Beethoven – Concert n. 1 op. 15 in C Major
Ludwig van Beethoven – Concert n. 3 op. 37 in C Minor

Group B

Ludwig van Beethoven – Concert n. 4 op. 58 in G Major
Ludwig van Beethoven – Concert n. 5 op. 73 in E-flat Major
Fryderyk Chopin – Concert n. 1 op. 11 in E Minor
Fryderyk Chopin – Concert n. 2 op. 21 in F Minor
Robert Schumann – Concert op. 54 in A Minor

The results of the Finals will be announced that same night, in conclusion to the evaluation of the Jury.

Prizes

The proclamation of the winners and the award ceremony will take place during the official ceremony at the end of the Competition.

The complete list of the Prize Concerts will be published soon.

FIRST PRIZE

FIRST
PRIZE

15.000 €

SECOND PRIZE

8.000 €

THIRD PRIZE

THIRD
PRIZE

4.000 €

AUDIENCE PRIZ

1.500 €