Applications open for Budapest’s 2021 Liszt Competition
Owen Mortimer
Friday, March 26, 2021
Applications are now being invited for the 15th Franz Liszt International Piano Competition at Budapest’s Liszt Academy, 12-19 September 2021.
This article originally appeared in International Piano magazine.
This year’s first prize package comprises €30,000 plus international concert appearances.
György Cziffra’s birth centenary falls in 2021 and will be commemorated by the inclusion of his Liszt arrangements in the repertoire choices for competitors. A Liszt arrangement by Saint-Saëns will similarly mark 100 years since the French composer’s death. Meanwhile, works by Bach and Haydn have been added to the competition’s pre-selection materials for the first time.
The stellar jury for the finals features Olga Kern (Russia), Olli Mustonen (Finland), Cyprien Katsaris (France), Boaz Sharon (USA) and Wu Ying (China), plus Hungarian pianists Tamás Vásáry, János Balázs and Gábor Farkas.
The Franz Liszt International Piano Competition was founded in 1933 and takes place every five years. The winner of the inaugural competition was Annie Fischer and other notable medallists have included Paul Badura-Skoda, Lazar Berman, Vadym Kholdenko and Alexander Ullman.
Pianists aged under 32 are invited to apply online by 15 April 2021.