The Iturbi Awards held by the Provincial Council of Valencia started accepting applications for the 21st International Iturbi Piano Competition, Valencia this Monday. This competition will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Iturbi Awards and mark the beginning of a new phase.
Important new features this year
This competition commemorating the 40th anniversary is coordinated by a commission led by a new artistic director: the prestigious pianist Joaquín Achúcarro. In the words of the councillor responsible for the Iturbi Awards, Gloria Tello, “the 40th anniversary competition will have important new features: it will once again be staged in the month of June, and the maximum age of entrants has been raised to 36”.
Entry applications must be submitted along with all the other required documents no later than 31 October to pianoiturbi.com. This will be followed by the preliminary round when 22 pianists will be chosen to take part in the competition.
This preliminary round will take place in November and December during which time a jury specific to this phase will assess the videos and documents submitted by applicants. The successful applicants and those on the waiting list will be announced on February 1st. The artistic director, Joaquín Achúcarro, will chair the jury of the competition to be held at the Teatro Principal in Valencia from 23 June to 2 July 2021, with the participation of the Orchestra of Valencia in the final phase.
Since its foundation almost 40 years ago in 1981, the Iturbi Competition has welcomed participants from the five continents and become an international benchmark for competitions of this type.
