International Piano Competition “Johann Sebastian Bach” Würzburg / Germany

The International Piano Competition J. S. Bach, Würzburg is a triennial competition that is held in Würzburg, Germany.[1] It was founded in 1992 by Prof. Walter Blankenheim[2] and "after having taken place in Saarbrücken five times, the Bach Competition moved to Würzburg for its sixth edition, 21–31 March 2007".[3] With 771 competitors from 58 countries over the last twenty-four years, it is the largest Bach Piano Competition in the World.

The competition is open to pianists of all nationalities who are not older than 36 at the time of the competition.[4] The program consists exclusively of the original keyboard works of J. S. Bach. The competition aims to promote and redefine Bach interpretation on the modern piano, with candidates encouraged to find a balance between stylistically/historically informed interpretation and new ideas with prospects for the future.[5] A broader goal of the competition is to encourage the study and performance of Bach's keyboard works, and a number of contestants—whether they won a prize or not—have enriched their concert repertoire with Bach’s works since participating in the competition.[6] Contestants are encouraged to listen to other competitors and discuss the variety of possible interpretations. The large number of participants, as well as the number of contestants who return to take part in this competition (often more than once), is a testament to the friendly atmosphere of this contest.[7]

The competition currently takes place in the buildings of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, with the final concert held in the Bibra Str. building.[8] Traditionally, the competition is held between the 11 and 21 March, culminating in the awards ceremony and final concert of the prizewinners on March 21 (J. S. Bach's birthday).[9][10] The 10th competition will be held in Hochschule für Musik Würzburg in 2019.[11]

Structure

The competition consists of three stages or rounds. All works are to be performed by memory and with all repeats (the only exceptions are the repeats of the Goldberg Variations, and repeats in the preludes of the Well-Tempered Clavier). The program is as follows:

First Round: one French Suite BWV 812–817 + one other obligatory work. These works differ with each competition, but have included Toccatas BWV 910–916, Fantasias, Aria variata alla maniera italiana in A minor BWV 989, three-part Ricercar from the Musical offering

Second Round: one English Suite BWV 806–811 or one Partita BWV 825–830 (these are rotated each competition) + Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier (the number depends on the chosen Suite/Partita)

Third Round: The program for the third round varies, with a duration between a minimum of 30 minutes to maximum of 40 minutes (with the Goldberg-Variations an only exception) Other options include one Partita + one or more original works by J. S. Bach chosen by the performer; or the French Overture B minor BWV 831 + one or more original works by J. S. Bach chosen by the performer; or the Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (without repeats); or a set of Preludes and Fugues from the Well-tempered Clavier (excluding those of the 2nd round)

Honorary Committee and Jury

The Honorary Committee consists of a number of notable musicians, including: Julius Berger, Dr. Kurt Bohr, Aldo Ciccolini, Ekaterina Dershavina, Karl Engel, Bernd Glemser, Adam Harasiewicz, Dr. Ryuichi Higuchi, Ulf Hoelscher, Dr. Klaus Hofmann, Zoltán Kocsis, Emanuel Krivine, Robert Leonardy, Jean Micault, Sigmund Nimsgern, Vera Nossina, Gerhard Oppitz, Siegfried Palm, Günter Philipp, Dr. Helmuth Rilling, Klaus Schilde, H.-P. und V. Stenzl, Fanny Waterman, Bruno Weil, Dr. Markus Brändle.[12] Members of the Jury have included Prof. Walter Blankenheim, Prof. Inge Rosar, Prof. Arne Torger, Vera Nosina, Amadeus Webersinke, Monique Duphil. Several former prize-winners have since been invited into the jury, including Chih-Yu Chen and Andrea Padova.

Prize winners

The competition allows for a number of finalists, however only four prizes are awarded. Prizes may be shared without diminishing the monetary award to each contestant. Diplomas and special prizes for best interpretation are also awarded. A number pianists that have won prizes in this competition have gone on to have international careers as performers or educators,[13] including Ekaterina Dershavina,[14] Andrea Padova,[15] Christopher Hinterhuber, Gerold Huber, Gianluca Luisi, Maria Perrotta, Esther Birringer, and Hilda Huang, who is currently the only pianist that has received top prizes in all Bach competitions (Leipzig 2014, Würzburg 2010, and Tureck 2010).[16]

Prize-winners of the International Piano Competition “Johann Sebastian Bach” Würzburg / Germany[17]
Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Diplomas Special Prizes and Acknowledgements
1992 Ekaterina Dershavina Nana Mamaeva Nataliya Kislenko and

Elena Metelskaya

 Andrea Padova and

Kalvis Jordans

 not awarded not awarded
1995 Andrea Padova Nataliya Kislenko Andreas Woyke and

Anton Boldyrev

 not awarded Julia Schirinova Marina Ivanova and

Mariya Massycheva

1998 not awarded Yorck Kronenberg Inga Kazanteva Marrett Popp and

Christopher Hinterhuber

 Marina Ivanova Ludmilla Hallaeva and

Thomas Walczak

2001 Gianluca Luisi Keiko Ishitobi and

Maria K.-Westerman

 Marina Ivanova and

Gerold Huber

 Eri Nakamura Chih-Yu Chen and

Ave Kruup

 Jorge García Herranz and

Young-Sook Cho and Natalia Kaiser and Naoya Seino

2004 Chih-Yu Chen not awarded Maria Perrotta not awarded Esther Birringer and

Myoung-Joon Cho and Eun-Jung Kim and Se hwa Yoon

 Oleksandra Pershyna and

Anne Salie and Jorge Garcia Herranz and Adam Szvoren

2007 Esther Birringer Yukiko Nakai Kirill Zwegintsow Rie Kawata Sholpan Barlykova and

Rosamaria Bene and Andreas Hecker

 Olga Witthauer
2010 not awarded not awarded Hilda Huang Ágnes Juhász and

Rosamaria Bene

 Kirill Monorosi and

Elizaveta Ivanova

 not awarded
2013 not awarded Daniel van der Hoeven Rosamaria Bene Ai Kayukawa and

Naoya Fujiwara

 not awarded Victoria Young
2016 not awarded Maciej Słapiński not awarded Laurens de Man Max Nyberg and

Georgi Boykin

Maciej Słapiński and

Max Nyberg and Daae JEON

2019 not awarded not awarded Mattia Fusi Alexander Koryakin Iuchi Saori and

Joanna Krauze

Mattia Fusi and

Alexander Koryakin and Joanna Krauze and Georgi Boykin and Philipp Adrian Voepel and Victoria Frances Young and / Sergey Korolev

References
  1. "Wettstreit der Pianisten in Würzburg". MAIN POST. MAIN POST. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. PPREISSNER, KATJA (10 July 2000). "Bach-Spiel ohne Schallmauer" (NR. 157 MONTAG, 10. JULY 2000). Saarbrücker Zeitung. Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. Alink, Gustav. "Walter Blankenheim passed away". Alink-Argerich Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  4. "Wettstreit der Pianisten in Würzburg". MAIN POST. MAIN POST. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  5. "Im Fernen Osten ist Bach besonders beliebt". Saarbrücker Zeitung. Saarbrücker Zeitung. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  6. Alink, Gustav. "No disappointment with Bach". Alink-Argerich Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  7. Kupke, Frank (10 March 2013). "Bach als Heiratsstifter". MAIN POST. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  8. Cremers, Moritz (25 February 2016). "79 Pianisten messen sich in Bach-Interpretationen". Main Post. Main Post. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  9. Döpke, Doris (24 February 1995). "Saar-Reisende mit Bach im Kopf Vor dem 2. Internationalen Bach-Klavierwettbewerb Saarbrücken - Ein Gespräch". Saarbrücker Zeitung. Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  10. Aschinger, Wieland (8 March 2013). "Internationaler Bach-Klavierwettbewerb in Würzburg". MUSIK HEUTE ISSN 2193-0139. Musik Heute. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  11. Hochschule für Musik, Würzburg. "INTERNATIONALER KLAVIERWETTBEWERB JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH". Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. HfM Wuerzburg. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. Rosar, Inge. "Jury and Honorary Committee". Bach Competition. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  13. HAMMEL, JÜRGEN (13 March 1995). "Drei Jahre Üben, drei Monatsgehälter für den Flug Saarbrücken: Eindrücke vom Bach-Klavierwettbewerb". Saarbrücker Zeitung. Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  14. Oron, Aryeh. "Ekaterina Dershavina". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  15. Oron, Aryeh. "Andrea Padova". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  16. Alink, Gustav. "Hilda Huang". Alink-Argerich Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  17. Rosar, Inge. "Prize-winners". Bach Competition. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
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