The eminent Spanish pianist will also repeat as Artistic Director of the Iturbi Prize.

The Diputación de Valencia (Provincial Council of Valencia) has the honour to announce that Joaquín Achúcarro, one of the most notable concert pianists in the world, with a career spanning more than seven decades, will once again preside over the Jury of the 23rd Valencia Iturbi International Piano Competition, which will be held in 2025.

The maestro has had the leading role in the new phase of the Iturbi Prize, marked by his incorporation as its new Artistic Director in December 2019. A new Artistic Committee, formed under Achúcarro’s direction, designed an updated model for the competition, focusing its attention on the search for aspects which are of the most profound importance in pianistic performance, and in this way redefining the bases and spirit which govern the competition.

Joaquín Achúcarro chaired the Iturbi Prize Jury for the first time in its 21st edition (2021) and two years later he repeated in the 22nd edition (2023).

His victory in England at the Liverpool International Competition (one year after Zubin Mehta had won it as conductor) and the rave reviews in the London papers after his debut with the London Symphony in the Royal Festival Hall marked the beginning of his career.

Since then, Achúcarro has had an exceptional, uninterrupted international career. He has toured 61 countries, was named “Artist for Peace” by the UNESCO in Paris in recognition of “his extraordinary artistic achievement”, is Accademico ad Honorem of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (Italy) and, in his home country, Achúcarro has received the highest honours in the Arts: the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, the National Prize of Music and the Great Cross of Civil Merit. In 2018 he was named Académico de Honor de la Real Academia de las Bellas Artes de San Fernando and Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) christened the miniplanet 22191 under Achúcarro´s name as a tribute to his successful international career.