Senior Solo Piano Competition

Open to pianists born on or after 1st September 1999

Application Stage (Closing date: 16/06/2025)

Applicants must submit an unedited recording of solo piano repertoire not exceeding 8 minutes.

A maximum of twenty pianists will be selected for the Preliminary Stage.

Preliminary Stage: 19th October 2025

A programme of solo piano music not exceeding 15 minutes, to include:

a. A work (single movement or selection of movements) composed before 1828
b. A study by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, Kapustin, or Dusapin
c. A work composed after 1955

 Four pianists will be admitted to the Final Stage

Final Stage: 20th October 2025

A programme of solo piano music not exceeding 25 minutes, to include a complete work or a selection of movements by Maurice Ravel.

No work performed in the Preliminary Stage may be repeated.

Rules

  • All competitions are open to pianists of any nationality.
  • Pianists can only compete in either the Junior or Senior Solo Category. However solo competitors can also compete in the accompanist category but need to pay the relevant application fees for both categories.
  • The decisions of the jury are final and binding and cannot be challenged. The competition organisers reserve the right not to award prizes or to reduce the number of competitors to appear in the final stage if the standard is not sufficiently high in the opinion of a majority of the members of the jury.
  • Before the Festival commences, competitors names will be drawn by an independent panel to decide on the order of performance. This order will then be followed at every stage.
  • Recording for Solo competitions should be a recent unedited film or audio recording, and must be submitted electronically by providing a link for us to download or view the recording on an online file sharing service e.g. WeTransfer, Dropbox, YouTube, etc. (Where relevant please ensure that the correct file sharing permissions have been granted to enable us to view/download the file).
  • The recording should be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the competitor’s current or most recent teacher. There is no need to submit a recording for the piano accompaniment category however a letter of recommendation must be submitted with the application.
  • Entries will be accepted from the 16 April to midnight on 16th June 2025. 
  • Entry fees: Junior Piano Solo Competition: £30; Senior Piano Solo Competition and the Competition for Accompanists: £40. This includes entry to all festival events and concerts apart from Gwilym Simcock recital.
  • 75% of the registration fee will be refunded to competitors not admitted to the Preliminary stage of Junior Solo, Senior Solo or the accompaniment competition.
  • Competitors selected to progress to the Preliminary stage of the competitions will be informed no later than the 1st July 2025.
  • If a competitor pulls out of the competition for any reason, registration fees will not be refunded.
  • Please note that the final stages of each competition will be recorded.

Prizes

    • First Prize: £3000    
    • Second Prize: £1000     
    • Two other finalists: £350 each
    • Special Prize for the best performance of a work by Maurice Ravel: £300
    • Special Prize for the best performance of a work composed after 1955: £300