CHASING THE RIGHT NOTE Piano Competitions dominate the stage in 2025
Chopin, Van Cliburn, Queen Elisabeth, Busoni, Liszt, ARD… the list of major piano competitions in 2025 is long. Interest in classical piano playing seems to be growing without an end in sight… “for our festival audience, competitions are a relevant form of exploring the next generation of pianists as they tend to have a particular interest in the piano scene and do notice developments and newcomers in our field” says Kartin Zagrosek, new Executive Director of “Klavier-Festival Ruhr”, the largest piano festival of the world. “In that sense, competitions mean a valuable source of interaction and communication with our most loyal and interested audiences and can increase the reputation of and interest in our programme if we feature prize-winners of the major competitions. We have good relationships and frequent contact with all major piano competitions. We work with them directly in the sense that we receive regular invitations to attend the final rounds of the competitions as well as liaising with competition administrators in those cases where they work with their prize-winners as an agency or artist management. We do not categorically book winners of competitions “blindly” in advance, however, as we intend to keep the authority of our programming by choosing the best fit for each festival”.
Gary Graffman ©Carol Rosegg
The celebrated pianist Gary Graffman has been a major figure in the music world since winning the prestigious Leventritt Award in 1949. For the next three decades he toured almost continuously, playing the most demanding works in the piano literature both in recital and with the world’s great orchestras. In 1979, Mr. Graffman’s performing career was curtailed by an injury to his right hand. However, the reduction in Mr. Graffman’s concert activity provided him with a remarkable opportunity to expand his horizons beyond the stage. He joined the faculty of The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1980, following such illustrious predecessors as Joseph Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist and Rudolf Serkin. He was appointed President of The Curtis Institute in 1995, a position he served until May 2006.
« Three Wine lovers: Eugene Istomin, Gary Graffman and Leon Fleisher in the 1950s. (©Archive)
More competitions, more pianists, more hurdles to overcome. What does it take for a pianist to be successful? “They should be discovered early, and that´s the most important thing”, says Gary Graffman,
Piano Competitions in 2025
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