2022 Third Olga Kern International Piano Competition Application Requirements

The in-person rounds of the 2022 Olga Kern International Piano Competition will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, from October 23 to October 30, 2022. The Competition is open to pianists of all nationalities who will be between the ages of 18 and 32 on October 30, 2022. Participation in the Competition is conditional on a candidate submitting the required documents for consideration by May 10, 2022.

Application

Competition Application

Fee: $180, plus a $30 application fee, for a total of $210 (if submitted by 11:59 p.m., EST, May 2, 2022)

Application Review: Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Submitted materials will not be returned. Candidates’ documents and recordings will be assessed by the Screening Jury. The Screening Jury will admit 20–24 competitors to compete in the Virtual First Round which will be held virtually and live-streamed through the Competition website. After the Virtual First Round, 8–10 candidates will be invited to the live rounds of the competition taking place in Albuquerque from October 23–30, 2022. The list of invited candidates will be announced and made public by July 26, 2022.

Application Video Recording Requirements: An unedited recording of the applicant must be submitted to the Piano Competition Office as follows:

  • The recording must be of excellent technical quality and preferably recorded professionally.
  • The applicant’s face and hands must be clearly visible throughout the recording.
  • The recording must have been made within 12 months of the submission of the application.
  • Minimum duration is 40 minutes. Maximum duration is 50 minutes.
  • Only solo piano works will be accepted.
  • The recording must be unedited. Postproduction handling that affects the acoustic quality of the recording (such as bias, equalization, and noise reduction) is permitted, but must be stated.
  • The recording must be clearly and visibly labeled showing the applicant’s full name and the details of where and when it was made.
  • You may include recordings from public performances or a recording studio.
  • Each individual work must be recorded in one unedited take. The works, however, may have been recorded on different dates.
  • Do not include titles, fade-outs, or video transitions.

Required Repertoire for Video Recording Application:

  • One Bach Prelude and Fugue from Books I or II of The Well-Tempered Clavier
  • One etude by the following: Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin
  • One of the sonatas by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
  • One piece of the competitor’s choice

Each composition should be performed in full. No individual movements will be permitted.

Required Repertoire

Everything must be performed from memory and all printed repeats must be taken.

July 20–24, 2022 (Virtual)

VIRTUAL PRELIMINARY ROUND (45 min. total):

Everything must be performed from memory and all printed repeats must be taken.

  1. One Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach (chosen from either book of The Well-Tempered Clavier).
  2. Two contrasting études chosen from the following composers:
    • Frédéric Chopin
    • Franz Liszt
    • Sergei Rachmaninoff
    • Alexander Scriabin
    • Claude Debussy
    • Sergei Prokofiev
    • Karol Szymanowski
    • György Ligeti
  1. One Sonata by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or Ludwig van Beethoven.
  2. One short piece by Rachmaninoff chosen from the following:
    • Transcriptions
    • Preludes Op. 23 or Op. 32
    • Pieces Op. 3 or Op. 10
    • Polka de W.R.

Music in the Virtual First Round may be repeated from the screening round, however, it must be included as a new recording as part of the new recorded performance for the Virtual First Round.

The performance must be recorded in one take from the beginning to the end without any edits. The performance can be with or without an audience and has to be recorded and submitted during the May 1–June 28, 2022, period. The camera must be placed in such a way that it is close enough to the competitor to see their hands and face in profile. Do not include titles, fade-outs, or video transitions. The recording must be clearly and visibly labeled showing the applicant’s full name and the details of where and when it was made.

October 24–30, 2022 (Albuquerque, NM, USA)

IN-PERSON Second ROUND (60 min. total):

  1. Work(s) of competitor’s choice.
  2. Required piece (5–6 minutes long) (sent to competitors on August 1, 2022, prior to the Competition) composed by renowned composer Carl Vine specifically for the Olga Kern International Piano Competition.

SEMIFINAL ROUND – CHAMBER MUSIC

The Semifinal Round competitors will perform their choice of one of the three Brahms violin and piano sonatas with Alexandre Da Costa on the evening of Thursday, October 27, 2022. There will be up to 6 competitors advanced to the Semifinal Round.

FINAL ROUND

competitor’s choice of one of the following concerti for piano and orchestra:

  • Béla Bartók: Piano Concerti Nos. 2 or 3
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerti Nos. 3, 4, or 5
  • Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 or 2
  • Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 or 2
  • George Gershwin: Concerto in F
  • Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in a minor
  • Franz Liszt: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 or 2
  • Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerti Nos. 1, 2, or 3
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerti Nos. 1, 2, or 3, or Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
  • Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major
  • Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in a minor
  • Alexander Scriabin: Piano Concerto in f-sharp minor
  • Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 or 2