Competitions are in competition with each other, so on Tuesday the stakes went up when the Montreal International Piano Competition added an improvising prize to its 2014 edition.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Improvising is not on the to-do list for most classical musicians, professors or students, which makes this a particularly noteworthy step.
The free-admission improvisatory round of the 2014 piano contest has been scheduled for May 20, at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. The small international jury includes the queen of art-music piano improvisers: Gabriella Montero.
Montero will offer a public recital of her own in Montreal later on that same day.
The winner of this round of the competition will receive a $5,000 prize named after benefactor and longtime Montreal competition board member Richard Lupien.
Christiane LeBlanc, general and artistic director of the Montreal International Music Competition, believes that her organization is the first among the 126 that belong to the World Federation of International Music Competitions to offer an award for improvisation.
According to a press release, Lupien wished “to reward a pianist who can restore the glory of improvisation in the field of classical music.”
Applying to the improvisatory component of the competition will not change the entry and competition procedures and stages around the main piano competition, which begins on May 26.
The deadline to enter the improvising category, limited to 10 finalists, is Feb. 24. Pianists must be 35 or younger at the start of this year.
All the details are available here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
