The Honens International Piano Competition is open for applications for the 2025 edition. The Honens Competition Quarterfinals will take place in Berlin and New York in March 2025, and the Semifinalists and Finalists who emerge from those rounds will perform in Calgary that October.
The three 2025 Honens Laureates — Gold, Silver, and Bronze — will be announced on October 24, 2025.
Three Honens Prizes
The Honens competition offers the three laureates significant cash prizes. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Laureates receive a cash prize of $100,000 CAD, $40,000 CAD, and $20,000 CAD, respectively.
Along with the money, they will benefit from a three-year Artist Development Program that will be customized to their current needs, and may include:
- Debut recitals in significant markets;
- Help in the search for worldwide artist management;
- Coaching and mentorship, including media training;
- And more.
It’s one of the world’s largest prizes of its kind, and the laureates are not only evaluated for their technical skills and virtuosic playing, but also their ability to communicate and collaborate, take risks, and interpret a variety of ideas.
“We’re delighted to announce our 2025 Competition,” says Honens Artistic Director Jon Kimura Parker in a statement. “This Competition, in particular, brings exciting new changes and growth to Honens through its expansion to three Laureates, the cash prizes they receive, and the holistic scope of the artistic development and career accelerator program.”
The jury for the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition includes Janina Fialkowska, Awadagin Pratt, Philippe Bianconi, Pavel Kolesnikov, and Tanya Bannister, among others.
For 2025, noted British classical pianist and composer Sir Stephen Hough will serve as the 2025 Mentor-in-Residence.
In Honens’ commitment to both established and new repertoire, Iranian-Canadian composer and pianist Iman Habibi has been commissioned to compose an eight-minute piece to be performed by each Semifinalist. Habibi is a 2022 Azrieli Music PrizeLaureate. In addition, semifinalists must perform a work by an under-represented composer, and provide a rationale for their choice.
“Honens strongly believes in, and adheres to, its responsibilities to competitors, community, and the art music ecosphere,” says Honens President & CEO John Kieser. “This Competition showcases to the world and our audiences the new generation of Complete Artists who are performers, leaders, teachers, advocates, and communicators.”
Along with the three finalists, one of the successful Quarterfinalists will receive the brand new Incubator Award. The recipient will be a musician who has demonstrated a passion for using their music for change.
The Incubator Award will offer up to three years’ support for a specific project, which can include a variety of parameters.
The Details
- Applications are now open to pianists between 20 and 30 years of age.
- The deadline to apply is October 30, 2024 (23:59 GMT-07:00).
- 50 applicants will advance to the Quarterfinals in Berlin and New York; ten will advance to the Semifinals in Calgary in October.
- Three pianists will progress to the Finals, which conclude on October 24, 2025.
Find out more, and apply, [HERE].
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