· Glòria Tello, councillor responsible for the Iturbi Prize, Joaquín Achúcarro, Artistic Director, and Óscar Oliver, Coordinator and Advisor, have provided details of the competition, which will take place between 23 June and 3 July at the Teatro Principal in Valencia

· Tello said “We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Iturbi Prize with a high calibre of performers, which we hope will be a great attraction not just for the specialist audience, but also for the general public”

· Achúcarro said “This is an extraordinary edition that has already achieved significant success. We had a difficult task selecting the pianists from among the 178 applicants, breaking all previous records”

· Admission to all stages is free of charge, although to attend the recitals and concerts of the final, the Grand Final, and the gala, you must book in advance via the website pianoiturbi.dival.es

Valencia, 21 June 2021

The Iturbi Prize, organised by the Provincial Council of Valencia, has presented the Valencia International Piano Competition, a biennial musical event that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Glòria Tello, councillor responsible for the Iturbi Prize, Councillor for Culture at Valencia City Council and President of the Palau de la Música; Joaquín Achúcarro, Artistic Director, and Óscar Oliver, Coordinator and Advisor, provided details of this 21st edition, which will take place at the Teatro Principal between 23 June and 3 July.

Tello expressed her satisfaction that “we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Iturbi Prize with such high-quality performers, who we hope will be a great attraction, not just for specialist audiences, but also for the general public”. The councillor stressed that “this special edition marks the start of a new phase and a new model with a prestigious Artistic Director and committee, headed up by Joaquin Achúcarro and pianists Óscar Oliver (Coordinator), Josu de Solaun, Emma Jiménez and Carles Marín, who have introduced changes to promote this ambitious project nationally and internationally and consolidate it as a benchmark in the world of piano”.

Achúcarro, who also chairs the jury, said that “this is an extraordinary edition that has already achieved significant success. We had a tough job selecting the pianists from among the 178

applicants, breaking all previous records. The five rounds of the competition will also be very difficult; the level is going to be extremely high”.

The renowned Basque concert pianist congratulated the organisers because “overcoming the obstacles of the pandemic and registering performers from 41 countries while competing with five other major international competitions, which were postponed to 2021, is the result of great teamwork that puts Valencia at the forefront of the international music scene”.

Oliver thanked the regional, national and international media for their “sensitivity and attention to the Iturbi Prize and to the figure who gives his name to this competition, a pianist who must be recognised for his artistic and social relevance and significance, as well as for his work in promoting Spanish music and musicians (Albéniz, Granados, Falla, Infante, Cassadó, etc.), in general, and Valencian musicians (López Chavarri, Rodrigo, Palau and Magenti), in particular”. The coordinator has invited the public, music lovers and enthusiasts to attend and enjoy the concerts live or via streaming.

Free admission and streaming

Admission to all rounds is free of charge, although to attend the recitals and concerts of the final, the Grand Final, and the gala at the Teatro Principal, you must book in advance via the website pianoiturbi.dival.es. This musical event can also be enjoyed worldwide on YouTube and on the Provincial Council of Valencia’s website, www.webtv.iturbi.es, which will stream the competition from the semi-finals onwards, starting on 27 June.

The organisers have stated that throughout this time, with the celebration of the 1st Iturbi Festival and the performances held in different venues around the city and at the Centre Cultural de la Beneficència last September, they have sought to reaffirm that “culture is safe” and considered that “music should face the coronavirus with all the necessary health and safety measures to avoid the paralysis of activity, concerts and the development of musicians’ artistic careers”.

The pianists will begin the auditions, in the order determined by a draw, in the first round on 23 to 24 June, the second round on 25 to 26 June, and the semi-finals on 27 to 28 June. The first final will take place on 29 and 30 June and the Grand Final on 2 July, in which the contestants will perform two piano concerts with the Orquestra de Valencia at the Teatro Principal. From 23 to 28 June, the performances will take place from 10 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm, and the final and Grand Final will begin at 7:30 pm. The journalist Martín Llade will present the Grand Final and the awards ceremony, which will take place on Saturday 3 July.

Achúcarro, Chairman of the Jury

Achúcarro will chair the competition jury, made up of eight leading figures from the international piano and music scene: Catherine D’Argoubet, Ana Guijarro, Jorge Luis Prats, Menahem Pressler, Didier Schnorhk, Josu de Solaun, Paolo Pinamonti and Barrett Wissman, who will evaluate the performances based on artistic criteria, interpretation and suitability to the chosen repertoire.

The Iturbi Prize will award a total of €89,000 in cash to the winners of the Valencia International Piano Competition. The prizes in this special edition have been increased by 70% compared with the previous competition; the first prize will be €30,000 and the recording of a CD by the renowned record label IBS Classical; the second prize will be €20,000 and the third prize €10,000, as well as a concert tour in Spain and abroad for the top three winners. Achúcarro also announced an important collaboration between the competition and the prestigious company IMG Artists – one of the world’s leading management agencies – which will offer a management contract to the first prize winner.

Other prizes

The three finalists who do not reach the Grand Final will receive €5,000, and the best of them will receive €3,000 from Valencia City Council. In addition, €2,000 will be awarded for the following: the special prize for the best performer of Spanish music, by the Provincial Council of Valencia; the best performance of a piece by Chopin, by Valencia City Council; the best performance of a Mozart sonata, by Valencia Philharmonic Society; the best performance of a Beethoven concerto, by Kawai; and the best contestant chosen by the public, by Clemente Pianos. The best performance of Imatges, a work by Óscar Colomina commissioned for the anniversary of the Iturbi Prize, will receive €1,000 from Polimúsica.

The Iturbi Prize is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, an association based in Geneva that brings together competitions from countries on all five continents, including the most prestigious international music competitions in the world. The Valencia International Piano Competition is a member of the Alink-Argerich Foundation, which brings together most of the international piano competitions around the world.