June 26–28, 2024
Deadlines & Schedule
Cash Prizes
Application Procedures
Audition & Repertoire Requirements
Rules
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.
Deadlines & Schedule
FEB 13 – Deadline to submit application with preliminary round recording
MAR 20 – Results of the preliminary round announced
APR 15 – Semifinal recordings due
Early May – Finalists announced
JUNE 26 & 27 – Finals take place in person at Merkin Hall
JUNE 28, 2 pm – Winners Concert at Merkin Hall
Jury
To be announced soon
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.
Application procedures
All application materials must be submitted via email by 11:59 pm on February 13, 2024 to PianoCompetition@kaufmanmusiccenter.org
Application Information will be posted by December 1, 2023.
ELIGIBILITY
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
Audition & Repertoire Requirements
SENIOR DIVISION: AGES 15–18
Preliminary YouTube Round – Up to 20 minutes of music
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work)
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 – 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
- Dett – In the Bottoms: IV Barcarolle.
- Dett – In the Bottoms: V Juba Dance
- Dett – Magnolia Suite: 1. Magnolias
- Dett – Magnolia Suite: 5. The Place Where the Rainbow Ends
- 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 YouTube Round – Up to 15 minutes of music
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work)
Semi-Final Round – Prerecorded: Up to 20 minutes. 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 – Up to 25 minutes of music
- A Classical sonata (or first or last movement)
- 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
- Dett – In the Bottoms: IV Barcarolle.
- Dett – In the Bottoms: V Juba Dance
- Dett – Magnolia Suite: 1. Magnolias
- Dett – Magnolia Suite: 5. The Place Where the Rainbow Ends
- 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 YouTube Round – Up to 10 minutes of music
Contestant's choice (needs to include at least one fast-paced work)
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 – 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
- No.4. Evening Shadows
- 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.
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.
