The next Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition will take place in June 2026. Applications will open in fall 2025.
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners!
JUNIOR 1 DIVISION
First Prize: Wilson Liu
Second Prize: Alexander Zhou
Third Prize: Kento Ishikawa
Steinway & Sons Special Award, in recognition of her Haydn performance: Winnie Geng
JUNIOR 2 DIVISION
First Prize: Eunha Basu
Second Prize: Zimu Wei
Third Prize: Ryan Huang
Steinway & Sons Special Award, in recognition of her Shostakovich performance: Christina Sung
SENIOR DIVISION
First Prize (shared): David Choi & Zarin Mehta
Third Prize: Jingyuan Zheng
Steinway & Sons Special Award, in recognition of his López-Gavilán and Barber performances: Alex Yang
June 26–28, 2024
Deadlines & Schedule
Application Procedures
Audition & Repertoire Requirements
Cash Prizes
Rules
Congratulations to the 2024 Finalists!
Meet the Finalists
View the Final Round schedule
Congratulations to the 2024 Semifinalists!
Junior 1 Division
Junior 2 Division
Senior Division
Igal Kesselman, Artistic Director
The 2024 Kaufman Music Center Piano Competition Finals and Winners' Concert will take place in Merkin Hall, June 26-28. Preliminary and semifinal rounds will take place virtually in a pre-recorded format.
Open to young pianists up to age 18, the Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition awards more than $12,000 in cash prizes and gives winners the opportunity to perform in New York's prestigious Merkin Hall.
Dormitory rooms at Manhattan School of Music are available at a discounted rate for Finalists and their families between June 25 & 29. Email us for details.
Deadlines & Schedule
NOV 29 – Application portal open
FEB 13 – Deadline to submit application with preliminary round recording
MAR 20 – Results of the preliminary round announced
APR 15 – Semifinal round recordings due
Early May – Finalists announced
JUNE 26 & 27 – Final Rounds take place in person at Merkin Hall
JUNE 28, 2 pm – Winners' Concert at Merkin Hall
Jury
Aldo López-Gavilán
Igal Kesselman
Vivian Li
Stanislav Ioudenitch
Orli Shaham
Application procedures
All application materials (application fee, application form and supplemental documents) must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on February 13, 2024.
Application Form
Pay Application Fee
Email proof of age to pianocompetition@kaufmanmusiccenter.org.
ELIGIBILITY age as of June 25, 2024:
Senior Division: Ages 15–18
Junior Division 2: Ages 11–14
Junior Division 1: Up to age 10
CONTACT
212 501 3360
PianoCompetition@kaufmanmusiccenter.org
Cash Prizes
Senior Division: Ages 15-18
First Prize – $4000
Second Prize – $2500
Third Prize – $1000
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Junior Division 2: Ages 11-14
First Prize – $2000
Second Prize – $1000
Third Prize – $500
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Junior Division 1: Up to age 10
First Prize – $500
Second Prize – $350
Third Prize – $250
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Audition & Repertoire Requirements
SENIOR DIVISION: AGES 15–18
Preliminary Round – Prerecorded: Up to 20 minutes of music can be submitted in multiple video links. Videos should be unedited.
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work) YouTube links are strongly preferred.
Semi-Final Round – Prerecorded: Up to 25 minutes. Must be recorded in one take, no editing is allowed. (One camera, hands are visible at all times).
- One virtuoso etude by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Prokofiev, etc.
- One Baroque polyphonic piece
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion
Final Round – Live: Up to 40 minutes of music
- First movement (or all movements) of a Classical sonata
- One or more works from the compositions below:
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 3 Visions:
- Dark Horsemen
- Summerland
- Radiant Pinnacle
- One movement or more from: Amy Beach – 4 Sketches Op. 15
- In Autumn
- Phantoms
- Dreaming
- Fire-Flies
- Amy Beach: "A Hummingbird," Op. 128 No. 3
- Aldo Lopez-Gavilan Suite for Piano – Movement No. 2
- One Prelude or more from: Lera Auerbach – Preludes
- One of the works below by Robert Nathaniel Dett:
- In the Bottoms: IV Barcarolle
- In the Bottoms: V Juba Dance
- Magnolia Suite: 1. Magnolias
- Magnolia Suite: 5. The Place Where the Rainbow Ends
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 3 Visions:
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion
Please note that one or more compositions from the Romantic era must be included in the competition repertoire, in either semifinal or final round.
One work from semi-final round may be repeated in the finals. Works from preliminary round can be performed at the semifinal or the final round.
JUNIOR DIVISION 2: AGES 11–14
Preliminary Round – Prerecorded: Up to 15 minutes of music can be submitted in multiple video links. Videos should be unedited.
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work) YouTube links are strongly preferred.
Semi-Final Round – Prerecorded: Up to 20 minutes of music. Must be recorded in one take, no editing is allowed. (One camera, hands are visible at all times).
- One Baroque polyphonic work
- One virtuoso etude by Czerny, Clementi, Moszkowski, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, etc.
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion
Final Round – Live: Up to 25 minutes of music
- First movement (or all movements) of a Classical sonata
- One or more compositions from the Romantic era
- One or more works from the compositions below:
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 3 Visions:
- Dark Horsemen
- Radiant Pinnacle
- One movement or more from: Amy Beach – 4 Sketches Op. 15
- In Autumn
- Phantoms
- Dreaming
- Fire-Flies
- Amy Beach: "A Hummingbird," Op. 128 No. 3
- Aldo Lopez-Gavilan Suite for Piano – Movement No. 2 (available here)
- One Prelude or more from: Lera Auerbach – Preludes
- One of the works below by Robert Nathaniel Dett – In the Bottoms:
- IV Barcarolle
- In the Bottoms: V Juba Dance
- Magnolia Suite: 1. Magnolias
- Magnolia Suite: 5. The Place Where the Rainbow Ends
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 3 Visions:
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion – optional
One work from semi-final round may be repeated.
Works from preliminary round can be performed at the semifinal or the final rounds.
JUNIOR DIVISION 1: UP TO AGE 10
Preliminary Round – Prerecorded: Up to 10 minutes of music can be submitted in multiple video links. Videos should be unedited.
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work) YouTube links are strongly preferred.
Semi-Final Round – Prerecorded: Up to 15 minutes of music. Must be recorded in one take, no editing is allowed. (One camera, hands are visible at all times.)
- One Baroque polyphonic work
- One virtuoso etude by Czerny, Berens, Lemoine Loeschhorn, Chopin, Moszkowski, Liszt, etc.
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion
Final Round – Live: Up to 20 minutes of music
- First or last movement of sonatina or sonata from the Classical era
- One or more compositions from the Romantic era
- One work from the compositions below:
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 7 Traceries:
- No. 3. Muted Laughter
- No. 5. Woven Silver
- No. 7. A Bit of Wit
- Florence Price – Ticklin’ Toes
- Florence Price – The Goblin and the Mosquito
- Florence Price – Thumbnail Sketches of A Day in the Life of a Washerwoman
- No.4. Evening Shadows
- One movement or more from: William Grant Still – 7 Traceries:
- One or more pieces at the participant's discretion – optional
One work from semi-final round may be repeated in the final round.
Works from preliminary round can be performed in semifinal or final rounds.
Cash Prizes
Senior Division: Ages 15-18
First Prize – $4000
Second Prize – $2500
Third Prize – $1000
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Junior Division 2: Ages 11-14
First Prize – $2000
Second Prize – $1000
Third Prize – $500
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Junior Division 1: Up to age 10
First Prize – $500
Second Prize – $350
Third Prize – $250
Special Prizes may be awarded.
Rules
- This website contains the most recent and accurate information about the competition, including updates that may have been made after emails have been sent.
- All applications will be reviewed by the Competition’s artistic committee and treated as confidential.
- The committee reserves the right to request additional information from or about an applicant.
- Upon notification of acceptance to the competition, all candidates must guarantee their availability for all published dates of the competition.
- The jury reserves the right not to choose any winners.
- The decision of the jury is final.
- The competition may be broadcast live or may be recorded and videotaped for subsequent broadcast, video or audio recording use.
- Competition winners are required to perform at the Winners Showcase Concert at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Concert Hall on Friday, June 28, 2024
- Competition winners must perform one of the compositions they performed at the live auditions for the Winners Concert, selected by the Artistic Committee.
- Past First Prize Winners are not permitted to compete in the same category.