The Iturbi Prize, or Valencia International Piano Competition, has seen an increase in applications for its 23rd edition, which will take place from 4 to 14 June in Valencia and will feature the famous Basque concert pianist Joaquín Achúcarro as Chairman of the jury. A total of 200 applications have been received from pianists from 40 countries, a record number since the competition was founded in 1981, and an increase of 8.7% compared with the previous edition in 2023 (the competition is held every two years), when there were 184 applications.
“Once again, music lovers in Valencia are in luck, and despite the incredible number of international competitions that exist, our Iturbi Competition has broken its own record. This time, we received 200 videos from 200 pianists of such a high standard that it was really difficult to choose the 22 who will be coming to Valencia in June”, said Joaquín Achúcarro. He also acknowledged the “enormous work” and “colossal effort” made by the preliminary jury, and recalled that from 4 to 14 June, ‘it will be up to the multinational jury of the highest calibre, which I have the honour of chairing, to award the prizes to 22 phenomenal pianists”.
The Provincial Councillor for Culture, Paco Teruel, noted that the Iturbi Piano Competition of the Provincial Council of Valencia “is a competition that transcends borders, thanks to its long history, its prestigious international jury and the fact that it is a great opportunity for young pianists from all over the world who want to boost their international profiles and careers”.
He also recalled that the Iturbi Prize is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, an association of competitions from countries on five continents, including the most prestigious international music competitions in the world.
For her part, the Artistic Director of the Iturbi Competition and Festival, Ana Guijarro, hopes that this will be a “magnificent edition” and pointed out that the selection of participants, as well as the pianists on the reserve list, “has been very difficult due to the high level demonstrated”. She also highlighted the age of the pianists in relation to the previous edition. “Some of them are very young”, she stated.
Participants
The Technical Pre-selection Committee of the 23rd Iturbi International Piano Competition of Valencia examined the documentation and video recordings provided by the applicants, and approved the list of those admitted to participate in the competition phase. It also drew up a reserve list to replace any competitors admitted who withdraw before the start of the competition phase.
The Technical Pre-selection Committee is composed of Ana Guijarro (Chair), Ángel Sanzo and Carles Marín. The competition jury itself, who will evaluate the selected pianists, is chaired by Achúcarro, and made up of Catherine d’Argoubet, Janina Fialkowska, Ana Guijarro, Paul Hughes, Jorge Luis Prats, Nicola Sani, Didier Schnorhk and Nicolai Demidenko, all of them prominent figures on the Spanish and international music scene.
.The first round of the competition will feature the 22 performers who have passed the pre-selection phase. The number in second round will be cut to 10; the final will include 6; and the Grand Final, 3. In the last two rounds, the contestants will perform alongside the Orchestra of Valencia, the resident orchestra of Palau de la Música. In the final, they will be able to choose one of Beethoven’s five concertos for piano and orchestra, and in the Grand Final they will have to perform a concerto for piano and orchestra from among those designated by the organisation, by composers including Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Joaquín Rodrigo and Manuel Palau.
