Member of The World Federation of International Music Competitions
The Board of the Scottish International Piano Competition regrets to announce that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition, which was set to run from 1-12 September 2020, will be postponed. It is the intention of the SIPC to set a new date for the competition once the world health situation improves.
Information will be available here on the website and on Twitter.
(i)The Competition is open to pianists of any nationality born between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 2001 (inclusive).
(ii) Applications for entry to the Competition must be made on the official application form. A version of this application form is available to download from the website www.sipc2017.org. Applications must be submitted by email (sipc@rcs.ac.uk) to the Administrator of the Competition by 31 March 2017.
(iii) Applications must be accompanied by an application fee of £80 sterling (nonrefundable). Payment should be made by bank transfer to The Scottish International Piano Competition. (SIPC bank details on Application Form). Late payment of the fee will normally make the application void.
(iv) Applications must be accompanied by a recent video recording of high professional standard, lasting between 30-35 minutes and representing various styles of the applicant’s solo playing (i.e. not with orchestral accompaniment). The performance must be unedited and certified as such by either the recording engineer or the applicant’s teacher. The preferred method for receiving the video recording is via a web link, such as YouTube, Vimeo, Youku, Video.qq or any other suitable, high quality video hosting website.
(v) The uploaded application must include a scan of your passport or birth certificate. Pdf’s or scans of reviews and award certificates, together with up to date signed references from two musicians of standing, neither of whom is a member of the published Competition Jury and at least one of whom is not, and has never been, a teacher of the applicant should also be attached to the email application form.
(vi) Applications will be acknowledged on receipt. Any which arrive late, or which lack any items listed in (iv) or (v) above, will not normally be considered for inclusion in the Competition.
(vii) All applicants will be informed by the beginning of May 2017 of the decision on their inclusion in the Competition. Successful applicants should then immediately email a high quality jpeg publicity photograph, CV and details of their programmes. As noted in (iii) above, application fees are non-refundable whether or not the application is successful.
Competitors may not change their planned programme or concerto preferences after completion of the registration form on arrival in Glasgow on 11 June 2014.
(i) The Competition will have four Stages. Stages 1, 2 and 3 will be solo recitals in the Concert Hall of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Stage 4 will be a concerto
performance with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
(ii) All competitors will play in Stages 1 and 2.
(iii) A maximum of ten competitors will be selected to play in the Stage 3 Semi-Final.
(iv) Three competitors will be selected to play in Stage 4 Final with Orchestra.
Stages 1 and 2 comprise of two, separate solo recitals given on different days. Each recital should not exceed 30 minutes, including applause and pauses. The programmes offered over the combined Stage 1 and Stage 2 recitals must include the following:
(i) An original work(s) from the baroque era (no transcriptions permitted). Repeats are at the discretion of the competitor.
(ii) Two Etudes by different composers
(iii) One complete work from the classical period, 1750-1828.
The remaining repertoire for the Stage 1 and Stage 2 recitals is entirely free choice.
Stage 1 Recital
Subject to (i), (ii) and (iii) above, a solo recital with the maximum duration of 30 minutes, which includes applause and pauses.
Stage 2 Recital
Subject to (i), (ii) and (iii) above, a solo recital with the maximum duration of 30 minutes, which includes applause and pauses.
Works performed in Stage 1 may not be repeated in Stage 2.
Stage 3 Semi-Final Recital
(i) The maximum duration of the semi-final programme, which includes applause and pauses, is 60 minutes. Repeats are to be at the artistic discretion of the competitor.
(ii) Works performed in Stages 1 and Stage 2 may not be repeated in Stage 3.
(iii) A commissioned work (duration 5-7 minutes) written by Scottish composer Gordon McPherson will be included in Stage 3. The score of the commissioned work will be sent to each competitor shortly after acceptance for the Competition.
(iv) Subject to (ii) and (iii) above, in addition to the compulsory commissioned work,
competitors have a free choice of works for the Stage 3 semi-final recital.
Note: It must be emphasised that the maximum duration of programmes in Stages 1, 2 and 3, which includes applause and pauses, should be adhered to strictly. The Chairman of the Jury may stop performances which exceed the permitted duration.
Stage 4
Each of the three finalists will play a concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 10 September 2017.
Competitors should be prepared to present one concerto selected from the following list:
Bartók
Concerto no. 1, Sz 83
Concerto no. 3, Sz 119
Beethoven
Concerto no. 1 in C major, op.15
Concerto no. 2 in B flat major, op.19
Concerto no. 3 in C minor, op.37
Concerto no. 4 in G major, op.58
Concerto no. 5 in E flat major, op.73
Brahms
Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 15
Concerto no. 2 in B flat major, op. 83
Chopin
Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11
Concerto no. 2 in F minor, op.21
Liszt
Concerto no. 1 in E flat major
Concerto No. 2 in A Major
Mozart
Concerto in D minor K466
Concerto in E flat major K482
Concerto in A major K488
Concerto in C minor K491
Concerto in C major K503
Concerto in B flat major K595
Prokofiev
Concerto no. 2 in G minor, op.16
Concerto no. 3 in C major, op. 26
Rachmaninoff
Concerto no. 1 in F sharp minor, op.1
Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18
Concerto no. 3 in D minor, op. 30
Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Ravel
Concerto in G major
Saint-Saens
Concerto No 2 in G minor
Schumann
Concerto in A minor, op.54
Tchaikovsky
Concerto No. 1
Concerto No. 2 (complete)
The Competition Jury will take particular account of the breadth and depth of the repertoire offered by a competitor and of the design of the programmes as a whole.
(i) The order of playing will be determined by ballot, drawn at the opening reception on 30 August 2017. All competitors must attend this event.
(ii) The order of playing will be maintained throughout all stages of the Competition.
(iii) All repertoire in the Competition should be played by memory, with the exception of the commissioned work, which may be played using the score. In addition, permission to use a score for a complex contemporary piece may be granted if the competitor requests this when submitting details of their programme.
(iv) Competitors who fail to perform when called upon by the Competition Jury may be disqualified.
(v) Appropriate concert dress should be worn for the Concerto part of Stage 4.
(vi) The Competition Jury is not obliged to award all the prizes.
(vii) The First Prize cannot be tied.
(viii) All prize-winners will attend the awards ceremony which follows the Concerto Final on 10 September 2017. No monetary award will be granted in absentia except with the consent of the Chairman of the Competition Music Committee in conjunction with the Chairman of the Competition Jury.
(ix) Decisions of the Competition Jury and of the Chairman of the Competition Music
Committee are final. No correspondence thereon will be undertaken.
Accommodation in private houses will be offered without charge to all competitors, but not to accompanying family members and friends, from 30 August 2017, for the duration of their participation in the Competition. Accompanying family members and friends will not be entitled to have access to competitors’ host accommodation during the Competition.
Competitors arriving before 30 August 2017 must make their own arrangements.
Competitors in financial need are eligible to apply to the Competition for assistance with travel expenses. Application forms will be made available to competitors and should be returned to the Administrator of the Competition by 30 June 2017. Any financial assistance is entirely at the discretion of the Competition Board.
(i) Practice facilities will be arranged from 30 August 2017. Competitors arriving before that date and who wish to practice, must make their own arrangements.
(ii) Competitors at Stage 4 will each have a piano rehearsal with the conductor and two rehearsals with the orchestra.
(i) A competitor must not take lessons from any teacher during the Competition, whether or not that teacher is a member of the Competition Jury.
(ii) If any competitor, or the teacher of any competitor, attempts to contact a member of the Competition Jury during the Competition, that competitor may be disqualified by the Chairman of the Competition Music Committee in consultation with the Chairman of the Competition Jury.
(iii) A member of the Competition Jury who is related to a competitor, or who is or has within the past three years been a teacher (otherwise than in a masterclass) of a
competitor, may not vote for or discuss that competitor with any other member of the Competition Jury.
(i) The commissioned work may not be performed on a public platform before the Competition.
(ii) All rights relating to Competition performances belong to the Scottish International Piano Competition. No fee is payable on account of these performances or any recordings, transmissions or broadcasts of them.
(iii) No smoking is allowed in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. (Any competitor breaking this rule will be liable to immediate disqualification by the Chairman of the Competition Music Committee in consultation with the Chairman of the Jury.)
(v) Dispensation to a competitor for a failure to adhere to any of the requirements on competitors in these Regulations is at the discretion of the Chairman of the Competition Music Committee to whom applications for dispensation must be addressed in writing.
(vi) Chairman of the Competition Music Committee: Professor Fali Pavri Assessors to the Jury: to be appointed by SIPC August 2017.