Jump to content

International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Declining submission: corp - Submission is about a company or organization that does not meet notability guidelines (AFCH 0.9)
No edit summary
Line 6: Line 6:


[[File:Dominic Piers Smith at the 23th International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, Paris.jpg|thumb|Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer, UK) at the Finals of the 23th International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (2012)]]
[[File:Dominic Piers Smith at the 23th International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, Paris.jpg|thumb|Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer, UK) at the Finals of the 23th International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (2012)]]
The '''International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs''' (French: ''Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano''), is a piano competition for amateur pianists, held in Paris, France. It has been held every year since 1989. The competition is widely considered to be one of the top-level competitions for amateur musicians in the world.<ref>[http://www.pianoamateurs.com/documents/presse/2012/competition-report-mai-2012.pdf Competition report] in the [http://www.rhinegold.co.uk/magazines/international_piano/ International Piano Magazine], accessed 5 January 2015.</ref>
The '''International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs''' (French: ''Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano''), is a piano competition for amateur pianists, held in Paris, France. It has been held annually since 1989. The competition is widely considered to be one of the top-level competitions for amateur musicians in the world.<ref>[http://www.pianoamateurs.com/documents/presse/2012/competition-report-mai-2012.pdf Competition report] in the [http://www.rhinegold.co.uk/magazines/international_piano/ International Piano Magazine], accessed 5 January 2015.</ref>


== Concept ==
== Concept ==
Line 25: Line 25:


[[File:XXV Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano - Finale.jpg|thumb|Poster of the Final round of the 25th Competition (2014) with the programmes of the finalists]]
[[File:XXV Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano - Finale.jpg|thumb|Poster of the Final round of the 25th Competition (2014) with the programmes of the finalists]]
The originality of the Competition lies in the fact that the competitors are not amateurs in the sense of "dabblers", but pianists, "who don’t just play the piano", musicians who, at some time in their lives, have had to make a choice, often a difficult one, between their profession and their potential career as a concert performer, the choice between making a living and their love of music.
The originality of the Competition lies in the fact that the competitors are not amateurs in the sense of "dabblers", but pianists, "who don’t just play the piano", musicians who, at some time in their lives, have had to make a choice, often a difficult one, between their profession and their potential career as a concert performer, the choice between making a living and their love of music.<ref>[http://pianoamateurs.com/documents/presse/2006/interview_crescendo_magazine.pdf Interview with Gérard Bekerman] the "Crescendo" magazine</ref>


As a result, the level of the contestants is very high. Many of them are real virtuosi: pianists often choose technically tough pieces by [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]], [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]] or [[Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff ]] for their repertoire.
As a result, the level of the contestants is very high. Many of them are real virtuosi: pianists often choose technically tough pieces by [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]], [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]] or [[Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff]] for their repertoire.


The winners have been invited to play with orchestral backing in the Sorbonne in Paris, under the baton of [[Georges Prêtre]] and the American conductor [[George Pehlivanian]] and, more recently, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Republican Guard of Paris directed by [[François Boulanger]] and the orchestra of the Paris Conservatorium of Music conducted by [[Pierre-Michel Durand]].
The winners have been invited to play with orchestral backing in the Sorbonne in Paris, under the baton of [[Georges Prêtre]] and the American conductor [[George Pehlivanian]] and, more recently, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Republican Guard of Paris directed by [[François Boulanger]] and the orchestra of the Paris Conservatorium of Music conducted by [[Pierre-Michel Durand]]. Many award winners have been invited to play at the '''"Les Amateurs!"''' festival, one of the most significant festivals for amateur pianists held all over the world.<ref>[http://www.pianestival.org/piano/participants.php?l=1 Website] of the "Les Amateurs!" piano festival, accessed 3 February 2015.</ref>


== Jury ==
== Jury ==


Each year, the panel of judges consists of well-known pianists and key personalities: [[Idil Biret]], [[Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux]], [[Anne Queffelec]], [[Sabine Lacoarret]], [[Germaine Devèze]], [[François-René Dûchable]], [[Marc Laforet]], [[Aldo Ciccolini]], [[Michel Dalberto]], [[Jay Gottlieb]], [[Alexis Weissenberg]], [[Marc-Olivier Dupin]], [[Eric Heidsick]], [[Jean-Claude Pennetier]], [[Dominique Merlet]], [[Siheng Song]], [[Michel Beroff]], and so on.
Each year, the panel of judges consists of well-known pianists and key personalities: [[Idil Biret]], [[Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux]], [[Anne Queffelec]], [[Sabine Lacoarret]], [[Germaine Devèze]], [[François-René Dûchable]], [[Marc Laforet]], [[Aldo Ciccolini]], [[Michel Dalberto]], [[Jay Gottlieb]], [[Alexis Weissenberg]], [[Marc-Olivier Dupin]], [[Eric Heidsick]], [[Jean-Claude Pennetier]], [[Dominique Merlet]], [[Siheng Song]], [[Michel Beroff]], [[Nella Rubinstein]] and so on.


A second "press panel" consists of more than twenty music critics representing both the main European dailies and the national and international media.
A second "press panel" consists of more than twenty music critics representing both the main European dailies and the national and international media.

Revision as of 01:09, 4 February 2015

  • Comment: Perhaps notable, but notability not established through the 2 references. Onel5969 (talk) 19:22, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer, UK) at the Finals of the 23th International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (2012)

The International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (French: Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano), is a piano competition for amateur pianists, held in Paris, France. It has been held annually since 1989. The competition is widely considered to be one of the top-level competitions for amateur musicians in the world.[1]

Concept

Created in 1989 by Gérard Bekerman, professor of economics at the university and a graduate of the Paris School of Music, the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs is designed for top-level amateurs. They come from all walks of life – doctors, office workers, lawyers, students, pensioners, engineers, and many others. The contestant's minimum age should be 18; there is no upper age limit.

This unique Competition has met with considerable success over the years, attracting hundreds of candidates from more than 50 countries worldwide. They love to meet in Paris in the congenial atmosphere of piano enthusiasts from every corner of the globe. One of the basic principles of the Competition is the free choice of programme. There are no set pieces. The aim is not to limit the candidates, but to discover the works of musicians of their own choosing. Gérard Bekerman, the founder of the Competition, claims that in Paris, the desire to "win" is outweighed by the love of music: "Pianists discover that the Competition for Outstanding Amateurs is not a competition but an "anti-competition". There are no opponents, no competitors, no judges, just music lovers".[2]

The competition is held in 3 rounds:

  • Preliminaries: candidate’s choice (10 minutes)
  • Semi-finals: a work by Bach and a romantic composition (15 minutes)
  • Finals: free program (30 minutes)

10 semi-finalists and 5 finalists are selected each year.

Level

Poster of the Final round of the 25th Competition (2014) with the programmes of the finalists

The originality of the Competition lies in the fact that the competitors are not amateurs in the sense of "dabblers", but pianists, "who don’t just play the piano", musicians who, at some time in their lives, have had to make a choice, often a difficult one, between their profession and their potential career as a concert performer, the choice between making a living and their love of music.[3]

As a result, the level of the contestants is very high. Many of them are real virtuosi: pianists often choose technically tough pieces by Liszt, Chopin or Rachmaninoff for their repertoire.

The winners have been invited to play with orchestral backing in the Sorbonne in Paris, under the baton of Georges Prêtre and the American conductor George Pehlivanian and, more recently, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Republican Guard of Paris directed by François Boulanger and the orchestra of the Paris Conservatorium of Music conducted by Pierre-Michel Durand. Many award winners have been invited to play at the "Les Amateurs!" festival, one of the most significant festivals for amateur pianists held all over the world.[4]

Jury

Each year, the panel of judges consists of well-known pianists and key personalities: Idil Biret, Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux, Anne Queffelec, Sabine Lacoarret, Germaine Devèze, François-René Dûchable, Marc Laforet, Aldo Ciccolini, Michel Dalberto, Jay Gottlieb, Alexis Weissenberg, Marc-Olivier Dupin, Eric Heidsick, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Dominique Merlet, Siheng Song, Michel Beroff, Nella Rubinstein and so on.

A second "press panel" consists of more than twenty music critics representing both the main European dailies and the national and international media.

Finally, there is an "audience award" which is given to the amateur pianist who has the most votes from the audience, collected at the final round of the competition.

Prize winners

Top prize winners since 2009
No. Year 1st 2nd 3rd Press award Audience award
XX 2009 United Kingdom Rupert Egerton-Smith (Lawyer) Ukraine Dmytro Vynohradov (Airline manager) France Romaine Coharde (Meteorological engineer)

Brazil Robert Fuchs (Architect) (ex-a.)

France Romaine Coharde (Meteorological engineer) United Kingdom Rupert Egerton-Smith (Lawyer)
XXI 2010 France Loïc Lafontaine (Assistant manager) Canada Michael Cheung (Management consultant) Canada Daniel Chow (Chartered accountant) France Loïc Lafontaine (Assistant manager) France Loïc Lafontaine (Assistant manager)
XXII 2011 United Kingdom Simon Grisdale (Interpreter)

France Robin Stephenson (Mathematician) (ex-a.)

France Claire Rocher (Mathematician) United States Gorden Cheng (Financial analyst) United Kingdom Simon Grisdale (Interpreter)

France Robin Stephenson (Mathematician) (ex-a.)

France Robin Stephenson (Mathematician)
XXIII 2012 United Kingdom Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer) Japan Kensucke Ota (Physician) Hong Kong Ricker Choi (Financial analyst) United Kingdom Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer) United Kingdom Dominic Piers Smith (Race car designer)
XXIV 2013 France Sylvain Carpentier (Mathematician) Italy Paolo Gilardi (Phycologist) Switzerland Jeremy Mätzener (Law student) France Sylvain Carpentier (Mathematician) France Sylvain Carpentier (Mathematician)
XXV 2014 France Antoine Moreau (Manager) France Thomas Prat (Quantitative analyst) Russia Mikhail Dubov Jr. (Software engineer)

United States June Wu (Consultant) (ex-a.)

Russia Mikhail Dubov Jr. (Software engineer) France Thomas Prat (Quantitative analyst)

References

  1. ^ Competition report in the International Piano Magazine, accessed 5 January 2015.
  2. ^ Website of the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, accessed 5 January 2015.
  3. ^ Interview with Gérard Bekerman the "Crescendo" magazine
  4. ^ Website of the "Les Amateurs!" piano festival, accessed 3 February 2015.

Category:Piano competitions