Piano Accompaniment Competition
(No age restriction)
After the application deadline, a maximum of 20 accompanists will be admitted to the preliminary stage.
The Festival will organise instrumentalists / singers for the competition for accompanists and competitors are not permitted to bring their own soloists. There will be a short rehearsal with each soloist / instrumentalist prior to performing.
Preliminary Stage: 18th or 19th October 2025
An instrumental and vocal programme:
Set work: Maurice Ravel: ‘Piece en forme d’habanera’ for oboe and piano as well as one work from category A and one group of songs from category B:
A. Instrumental: Oboe and piano
- Gabriel Grovlez: Sarabande and Allegro
- Paul Pierné: Fantaisie Pastorale
- Eugène Bozza: Fantaisie Italienne
B. Voice: Soprano and piano
One of the following groups of songs:
- Lily Boulanger: ‘Elle etait descendu’ and Un poéte disait’ (both in E major)
- Cécile Chaminade: ‘Reve d’un soir’ (F major) and ‘L’Absente’ (C major)
- Amy Beach: ‘Ah! Love but a Day’ (A flat major) and ‘The Year’s at the Spring’ (D flat major) from ‘Three Browning Songs’ Op. 44
Four accompanists will be admitted to the Final Stage.
Final Stage: 20th October 2025
An instrumental and vocal programme – accompanists to select one option from category A as well as the stipulated works for categories B and C:
A. The opening movement from one of the following Violin and Piano Sonatas:
- Gabriel Fauré: Sonata Op. 13
- Francis Poulenc: Sonata
- Johannes Brahms: Sonata Op. 108
B. Maurice Ravel: Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (original key)
C. A Welsh Song: information and copies will be given to the four accompanists after the results of the preliminary stage are announced.
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: £1,500
- Second Prize: £700
- Two other finalists: £250 each
- Special prize for the best performance of a Welsh song: £100