Sydney International Piano Competition
Awarded forExceptional piano performance
CountryAustralia
Presented bySydney International Piano Competition
Formerly calledSydney International Piano Competition of Australia
First awarded1977 (1977)
Websitehttp://www.thesydney.com.au

The Sydney International Piano Competition is a music competition, presented in Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia and internationally. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July–August,[1] and is internationally recognised as one of the world's great piano competitions.[2]

The competition was established in July 1977 by Claire Dan, with co-founders Rex Hobcroft and Robert Tobias,[3] and was admitted as a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 1978.[4][5]

The artistic director from its inception until 2015 was Warren Thomson, who also served as chairman of the jury from 1992 until 2012. In April 2015, following Thomson's death in February, Piers Lane (a former competitor and juror) was announced as the artistic director of the 2016 competition.[6]

For the first time in its history, the competition due to be held in July 2020 was postponed to 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.[7] [8]

Structure

A total of 32 (originally 36) pianists are selected to participate in the competition. Worldwide auditions are held to select the entrants, who must be aged between 18 and 32.[1][9] Traditionally, the previous winner presents a Gala Opening recital.

Rounds

The competition consists of three stages – preliminaries, semi finals and finals. All 32 competitors appear in the preliminaries which consists of two rounds. Round 1 of the preliminaries is a 20-minute solo recital and round 2 is a 30-minute recital. Competitors must include an Australian work in one of these rounds. The organisers have collaborated with Australian Music Centre to compile a list of suggested works by Australian pianists.[10] Miriam Hyde's Valley of Rocks was one of the pieces set for the 1988 competition; it was chosen by 23 of the contestants, and it went on to become her best-known work.

After the preliminary rounds, the best 12 are chosen to proceed to the Semi Finals which consists of two rounds - Semi Final Round 1 is a 65-minute recital and Semi Final Round 2 is a chamber work. In the 12th competition, this will be with either violin or cello. Six competitors advance to the finals, again consisting of two rounds, in which they play two piano concertos with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.[11][12] In the 12th competition, Finalists will play an unconducted concerto with Camarata Queensland in Finals Round 1 and a piano concerto with Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Finals Round 2.

Venues

Until 2016, the first stages took place at the Seymour Centre, University of Sydney.[13][14][15] In 2016 the venue was changed to Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The final stage is held in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House except in 2020 when the finals will be held at the Sydney Town Hall due to renovations at the Sydney Opera House.[16][17]

Broadcast

All stages are broadcast live on radio throughout Australia and to the world online, by ABC Classic FM. In 2020, ABC Classic considered the Sydney International Piano Competition one of its highlights of the year.[18] In 2016, the competition was streamed live and free on the competition's website and social media channels.

In 2021, for the first time since the competitions inception in 1977, patrons were required to pay a subscription fee to watch and listen to the competition. The ABC for the first time did not broadcast the event on free-to-air television. Instead subscriptions which ranged from $20-$30 per session or an overall online subscription of $350 were charged by SIPCA.

Prizes

The winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition receives a prize of $50,000 and a number of engagements including a national tour of Australia, international recital opportunities and a CD recording.[19][20] Smaller prizes are awarded for other placings.[21] In the competition's forty-year history, no Australian pianist has won first prize.

Musical patrons

The list of musicians and others who have been involved with the competition as either patrons or jurors includes Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lazar Berman, Sir Bernard Heinze, Eileen Joyce, Eugene List, Sir Charles Mackerras, Denis Matthews, Hephzibah Menuhin, John O'Conor, Harold C. Schonberg, Sir Georg Solti and Gordon Watson.[22]

2016 Competition

The 11th Sydney International Piano Competition took place from the 6 to 23 July 2016.[19] The preliminary rounds and semi final sounds were held in the Verbrugghen Hall at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The finals were held at the Sydney Opera House.

2016 Prize Winners[23]

1st Prize Andrey Gugnin Russia
2nd Prize Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev Russia
3rd Prize Moye Chen China
4th Prize Kenneth Broberg United States
5th Prize Oxana Shevchenko Kazakhstan
6th Prize Jianing Kong China

2016 Jury Members

Sa Chen China
Nikolai Demidenko Russia United KingdomSpain
Ewa Kupiec PolandGermany
Hamish Milne United Kingdom
Noriko Ogawa JapanUnited Kingdom
Orli Shaham United States
Carl Vine AO Australia
Timothy Walker AM AustraliaUnited Kingdom
Mira Yevtich Serbia  Italy

2016 Special Prizewinners[24]

Prizewinner Details
Russia Andrey Gugnin Best Overall Concerto sponsored and selected by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
China Jianing Kong Best 18th Century Concerto donated by Drs Keith and Eileen Ong
Russia Andrey Gugnin Best 19th or 20th Century Concerto donated by Janice Tuynman in memory of her husband Hank Tuynman
Russia Andrey Gugnin Best Violin and Piano Sonata donated by Susie Bate and Annie Moulden in memory of their uncle, Warren Thomson OAM
Kazakhstan Oxana Shevchenko Best Piano Quintet donated by David and Jan Robinson
Russia Andrey Gugnin Best Preliminaries Round 1 Recital donated by Ron, Lynn and Marcus Ogden
Russia Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev Best Preliminaries Round 2 Recital donated by Dr Robert Mitchell in memory of Denis Condon
China Jianing Kong Best Semi Finals Recital donated by Dr Robert Mitchell in memory of Denis Condon
Hungary Daniel Lebhardt Most Promising Pianist Sponsored by Universal Music Australia
Australia Tony Lee Best Australian Pianist donated by Youth Music Foundation
South KoreaGyu Tae Ha Best Performance of an Australian Piece donated by Hugh Hallard and Judy Hunt in memory of Warren Thomson OAM
Russia Sergey Belyavskiy Chairman of the Board’s Prize for the Best Performance of a work by Liszt donated by Neville Grace
China Ming Xie People’s Choice sponsored by Yamaha
China Ming Xie Medal for the Most Promising Competitor donated by Graham Wickes in memory of Australian pianist Dennis Hennig
Sweden Martin Malmgren Jury Discretionary Award donated by the 2016 Jury members
China Ming Xie

and

Croatia Alyosha Jurinic

 Alink-Argerich Foundation Award

Criticisms

Despite its generally recognised prestige, the competition has been in the past strongly criticised by some established Australian pianists. The pianist and composer Larry Sitsky said: "The title Sydney International Piano Competition sounds grand and definitive. But behind the facade is a rather shabby private party in progress".[25] The Liszt specialist and composer Leslie Howard said: "I was asked to be on the international advisory panel for this years ago ... and since then have never heard from any of them. ... No-one, of course, will ever hear from any of the prize-winners. They all seem to have had rather too close connections with members of the jury, which in any case is composed mostly of lacklustre teachers ... who have never been professional concert pianists in their lives and wouldn't recognise good and original artistry if it jumped up and bit them".[25] Michael Kieran Harvey has asked: "What does the complete lack of success past SIPCA winners have had at making a career say about the cloth-eared selectors who travel around the world at great expense auditioning young hopefuls? Why, if SIPCA is such an internationally significant competition, are second-rate teachers no-one's ever heard of, to say nothing of completely unqualified non-musicians, sitting in judgment at this supposedly premier music event?"[22] Despite his criticism, Harvey agreed to become the commentator for the ABC's radio broadcast of the 2000 competition, "in an attempt to provide some objective analysis".[22]

Critics also pointed to the dominance of Warren Thomson, who single-handedly chose the repertoire and all the jurors, many of whom are associated with the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), of which he was artistic director, Professional Development Programs.[25] With assistance from others, he also auditioned all the entrants and chose the 36 competitors. Alexei Yemtsov, a competitor at the 2000 competition, lived in Thomson's home and Thomson became his official guardian. That year, the minimum age was lowered from 18 to 17, although Thomson denied it had anything to do with Yemtsov's being only 17 at the time.[25] The pianist Simon Tedeschi has said he "has no intention of ever collaborating with Thomson and SIPCA ... The school of pianism with which he associates himself is not to my taste ... The trained-seal mentality makes for poor musicianship, and, ultimately, unhappy lives".[22] Margaret Hair, AIM's former head of keyboard studies, said: "There's a feeling among teachers that with Warren [Thomson] in charge, Australian students have little chance of making the final cut. The most tragic outcome of his effect on the piano scene in this country is a sense of hopelessness that most students now feel".[25]

Critics also pointed to the fact that in some cases competitors are the students of members of the jury. For example, Mikhail Yanovitsky and Dmitry Grigortsevich, finalists in the 1996 competition, were students of Mikhail Voskresensky and Lev Vlassenko respectively, both of whom were jurors.

The competition came under fire in 1992 when Ukrainian pianist Vitaly Samoshko was denied 6th place due to his disqualification for playing the incorrect Mozart Concerto. There was an error in the Kochel number in the application and whilst he was allowed to perform the concerto he had prepared, as well as Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op 43 he was nonetheless disqualified and 6th prize was not awarded based on legal advice at the time. The jury, not for the first time failed to award French pianist Oliver Cazal 1st prize even though he was the People's Choice winner and was by far and away the stand out performer. His performance of Prokofiev's 3rd Concerto was and is until this day, the benchmark performance.

Prize winners and jurors

Number Year Prize winners Jurors (incomplete) Music patron
I 1977 Soviet Union Irina Plotnikova Rex Hobcroft (chairman)[22]
Sergei Dorensky
Sir Bernard Heinze
Ludwig Hoffmann
Lucrecia Kasilag
Eugene List
André-François Marescotti
Denis Matthews
Hephzibah Menuhin[26]
Jan Weber
Wiktor Weinbaum		 Roger Woodward[27]
Soviet Union Svetlana Navasardyan
Canada André Laplante
United States Marioara Trifan
United Kingdom Philip Fowke
Soviet Union Manana Doijashvili
United States Daniel Blumenthal
Malaysia Dennis Lee
Brazil Diana Kacso
United States Gary Steigerwalt
Hungary Jenő Jandó
Poland Paweł Chęciński
Australia Piers Lane
II 1981 Canada Chia Chou Rex Hobcroft (chairman)
Claude Frank
Eileen Joyce
André-François Marescotti
Li Mingqiang
Cécile Ousset
Frederick Page
Abbey Simon
Gordon Watson
Wiktor Weinbaum
Roger Woodward[28]		 Sir Bernard Heinze[27]
Hungary Endre Hegedűs
Canada Catherine Vickers
United States Daniel Blumenthal
United Kingdom David Owen Norris
Israel Liora Ziv-Li
South Africa Marc Raubenheimer
New Zealand Patrick O'Byrne
United Kingdom Martin Roscoe
United States Alec Chien
United States Edward Newman
France Yves Rault
III 1985 China Du Ning-Wu Rex Hobcroft (chairman)[22]
Eileen Joyce (deputy chairman)[28]
Marcello Abbado
Nicole Henriot
André Laplante
Li Min-duo
Jurgen Meyer-Josten
Elizabeth Powell
Harold C. Schönberg
Peter Solymos
Gordon Watson
Kasulo Yasukawa		 Eileen Joyce[28]
West Germany Bernd Glemser
West Germany Thomas Duis
Indonesia Eduardus Halim
Israel Arnan Weisel
Switzerland Ueli Wiget
Hungary István Gulyás
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Rita Kinka
Australia David Selig
United States Michael Gurt
Italy Luigi Ceci
Australia Phillip Shovk
IV 1988 Soviet Union Alexander Korsantia Rex Hobcroft (chairman)[22]
Joan Chissell
Nicole Henriot
Li Mingqiang
Albrecht Roeseler
Harold C. Schönberg
Warren Thomson
Kazuyuki Tohyama
Ana Maria Trenchi de Botazzi
Arie Vardi
Lev Vlassenko		 Eileen Joyce[27]
Italy Riccardo Zadra
Indonesia Eduardus Halim
United States Sara Davis Buechner
Soviet Union Sergei Erohin
Australia Phillip Shovk
Israel Gilead Mishory
Soviet Union Anton Batagov
Austria Matthias Fletzberger
Australia Victor Sangiorgio
Israel Asaf Zohar
Hungary Adrienne Krausz
V 1992 China Xiang-Dong Kong Warren Thomson (chairman)[22]
Joan Chissell
Anthony Fogg
Edward Gordon
Li Mingqiang
William Littler
Hiroko Nakamura
John O'Conor
Elizabeth Powell
Albrecht Roeseler
Joaquín Soriano
Maurice Till
Arie Vardi
Lev Vlassenko
Sir Charles Mackerras[27]
France Olivier Cazal
Australia Duncan Gifford
Japan Hiroshi Arimori
Russia Anna Malikova
Ukraine Vitaly Samoshko
Israel Daniel Gortler
Germany Matthias Kirschnereit
Italy Michele Bolla
Netherlands Ivor Janssen
South Korea Young-Ah Kim
United States Helen Sim
VI 1996 Russia Sergey Tarasov Warren Thomson (chairman)
Aquiles Delle Vigne
Dean Elder
Ernest Fleischmann
Alexander Jenner
György Nador
Hiroko Nakamura
John Painter
John Roos
Pnina Salzman
Edvard Tchivzhel
Mikhail Voskresensky		 Sir Georg Solti[27]
Japan Yuki Takao
Italy Roberto Cominati
Italy Christiano Burato
RussiaUnited States Mikhail Yanovitsky
Russia Dimitry Grigortsevich
Russia Konstantin Masliouk
Germany Ingo Dannhorn
Canada David Louie
Australia Edward Park
Hungary Gábor Rózsa
United States Anne Louise-Turgeon
VII 2000 Russia Marina Kolomiitseva Warren Thomson (chairman)
Lazar Berman
Timothy Calnin[22][29]
Aquiles Delle Vigne
Franz Muller-Heuser
Irina Plotnikova
Pnina Salzman
Phillip Shovk
Edvard Tchivzhel
Frank Wibaut		 Sir Charles Mackerras[27]
Japan Ayako Uehara
AustraliaUkraine Evgeny Ukhanov
Russia Aleksei Volodin
Russia Vera Kamaneva
New Zealand Henry Wong Doe
VIII 2004 New Zealand John Chen Warren Thomson (chairman)
Nancy Bricard
Aquiles Delle Vigne
Alexander Jenner
Xiang-Dong Kong
Piers Lane
William Lyne
John O'Conor
Arie Vardi		 Sir Charles Mackerras[27]
Russia Rem Urasin
Australia Daniel de Borah
Japan Ayano Shimada
Russia Alexander Lubyantsev
China Chu-Fang Huang
IX 2008 Russia Konstantin Shamray Warren Thomson (chairman)
Michael Brimer
Aquiles Delle Vigne
Manana Doijashvili
Norma Fisher
Choong-Mo Kang
Heinz Medjimorec
Ian Munro
Phillip Shovk
Arie Vardi[30]		 Vladimir Ashkenazy[31]
Russia Tatiana Kolesova
Israel Ran Dank
Japan Takashi Sato
Japan Tomoki Kitamura
United States Eric Zuber
X 2012 Canada Avan Yu[32]
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Russia Nikolay Khozyainov
Ukraine Dmitry Onishchenko
Russia Mikhail Berestnev
China Hao Zhu
United States Tanya Gabrielian
XI 2016 Russia Andrey Gugnin[33] Valery Gergiev
Russia Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev
China Moye Chen
United States Kenneth Broberg
Kazakhstan Oxana Shevchenko
China Jianing Kong
XII 2021 ItalySlovenia Alexander Gadjiev[35]
Valery Gergiev[37]
Ukraine Artem Yasynskyy
AustraliaIndonesia Calvin Abdiel
Canada Alice Burla
Hungary Ádám Balogh
Japan Shion Ota
XIII 2023 South Korea Jeonghwan Kim
Zubin Mehta
Belarus Uladzislau Khandohi
China Yungyung Guo
United Kingdom Yuanfan Yang
China Wynona Yinuo Wang
Russia Vitaly Starikov

See also

References

General

Specific

  1. 1 2 "Sydney International Piano Competition 2004". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  2. ↑ "The Sydney Piano Competition Winner". riverside Parramatta.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Sipca | Outdoor Lounge Setting" (PDF). www.sipca.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "About the Competition". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Website Detail". Acn.net.au. Archived from the original on 8 September 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  6. ↑ Maxim Boon, "Piers Lane to lead Sydney International Piano Competition", Limelight, 8 April 2015 Archived 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 May 2015
  7. ↑ SIPCA website Archived 27 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 June 2020
  8. ↑ "Sydney International Piano Competition announces competitors". Limelight. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Competitors Chosen for 2008 Competition". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  10. ↑ "Sydney International Piano Competition 2020 - Australian repertoire : Australian Music Centre". www.australianmusiccentre.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Opening Recital — The Sydney International Piano Competition". Sydney International Piano Competition. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "International Piano Opening". Seymour Box Office. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "International Piano Stage 3". Seymour Box Office. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  14. ↑ "International Piano Semi Final". Seymour Box Office. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "Sydney International Piano Competition". The University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  16. ↑ "What's new?". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  17. ↑ "14. Competition Stages". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  18. ↑ "ABC Classic announces 2020 plans". ABC Classic. 3 December 2019. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  19. 1 2 "Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia 2016". Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "2020 Competition Prizes". Sydney International Piano Competition. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "3. Prizes and Special Prizes". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kelly Burke, "Tinkle, tinkle, little stars" Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 2000, via pianoseats.com.au
  23. ↑ "Winner of the 2016 SIPCA announced". Limelight. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "2016 Competition". Sydney International Piano Competition. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Kelly Burke: "Musicians lift lid on 'piano Olympics'", The Age, 3 July 2000
  26. ↑ "Hephzibah Menuhin 1920-1981". Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "SIPCA Newsletter September 2003". The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  28. 1 2 3 "Eileen Joyce (1908–1991) Timeline" (PDF). University of Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  29. ↑ John Painter and Viktor Makarov were originally chosen as jurors, but Painter withdrew due to illness, and Makarov was removed by Warren Thomson to allay concerns over the method of selection of judges. Phillip Shovk and Timothy Calnin were chosen in their places.
  30. 1 2 "Previous Competitions". Sydney International Piano Competition. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  31. ↑ "2008 SIPCA website". The Sydney International Piano Competition. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  32. ↑ "SIPCA 2012 winners". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  33. ↑ "Previous Competitions". Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  34. ↑ "2016 Competition". Sydney International Piano Competition. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  35. ↑ "The Sydney International Online Piano Competition 2021 - Sydney International Piano Competition". Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  36. ↑ "Jury Members". Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  37. ↑ "About Us". Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.

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