2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition
The Hilton Head International Piano Competition welcomes pianists of all nationalities.
Applicants must be at least age 13 at the beginning of the Competition (March 13, 2023) and no older than 17 at the end of the Competition (March 18, 2023).
First Prize winners of previous Hilton Head International Piano Competitions are not eligible to apply again.
Any applicant who falls into one of the categories below will NOT be eligible for this competition:
related to any member of the 2023 Competitor Selection Jury or the 2023 Competition Jury, or
has studied as a private student or student at a University or School of Music in the past five years with any member of the 2023 Competitor Selection Jury or the 2023 Competition Jury as their primary teacher [excluding master classes, summer programs and festivals] or,
has been coached by a member of either of the 2023 Juries in preparation for the 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition
ROUND I: Competitors will each perform a solo recital not to exceed 25 minutes.
ROUND II: Competitors will each perform a solo recital not to exceed 30 minutes
During the totality of Rounds I and II, the following required repertoire must be performed:
A Baroque piece
A complete classical sonata by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, or Schubert
A Romantic era piece
A piece written in 1950 or later
Any individual piece from the required repertoire above can be programmed into either Round I or II, at the discretion of the competitor. The remaining time in each Round will be filled with pieces chosen by the competitor. The maximum time for each round must include time between movements and between compositions. Failure to comply with the specific time limit for each round may result in a penalty by the Competition Jury.
A work cannot be repeated in both rounds. Works from the audition files may be played in either Round I or Round II, if desired.
ROUND III (Finals): Finalists will each perform the First Movement (unless otherwise specified) of a concerto, selected from the 2023 Approved Concerto List below, with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro John Morris Russell:
2022 Approved Concerto List
Beethoven – Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
Beethoven – Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Beethoven – Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73
Chopin – concerto No. 1, in E minor, Op. 11
Chopin – Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Grieg – Concerto in A minor Op. 16
Mendelssohn – Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Movements II and III
Mendelssohn – Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40 Movements II and III
Mozart – Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart – Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467
Mozart – Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488
Prokofiev – Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 Movements II and III
Rachmaninoff – Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Rachmaninoff – Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Saint-Saëns – Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Schumann – Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Tchaikovsky – Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23
DATES: March 13 – 18, 2023 AGE: 13 through 17 LOCATION: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA COMPETITION PIANOS: Steinway & Sons graciously provides the grand pianos for the Competition and its related events. The Steinway grand piano Model D will be available to the 2023 competitors for action testing on March 7 at the Round I and Round II competition venue. COMPETITION ROUNDS: The 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition will consist of three rounds of competition. Round I 20 Competitors Round II 20 Competitors Round III – Finals 5 Competitors COMPETITOR SELECTION JURY: The Competitor Selection Jury will evaluate, without discussion, all video audition files on the basis of commonly accepted musical criteria. The Jury will then select twenty (20) competitors to compete in the 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition. The Jury will also provide the competition administration with a rank ordered list of alternates. The Jury’s decision is final. COMPETITOR SELECTION JURY: Jane Coop– Canada Douglas Humpherys – USA Janice Weber – USA COMPETITOR ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE DATES: All competitors are expected to arrive on either Thursday, March 9 (for those traveling from international locations), or Friday, March 10 (for those traveling from U.S. locations) and to depart on Sunday, March 19, 2023. CHAPERONES: Competitors under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a chaperone. Competitors 15 to 17 years of age may choose to come unaccompanied or be accompanied by a chaperone. Any competitor 15-17 who elects to come unaccompanied must have his/her parent or guardian sign a waiver which will be provided by the Competition office. HOST FAMILY ACCOMMODATIONS: Each competitor and his or her chaperone will stay in the home of a Host Family from arrival on March 9 or 10 to departure March 19, 2023, who provides lodging, food, all local transportation, and a grand piano for practice. If a competitor wants to stay in the Hilton Head area for any days falling before or after the period of March 9 – 19, they will be responsible for arrangements and payment for their own lodging, food, and transportation for those extra days. TRANSPORTATION: The Competition will reimburse up to $500 in travel costs for each of the twenty (20) competitors. Chaperones must travel to and from Hilton Head at their own expense. MARCH COMPETITON JURY: Alvin Chow, USA (Chair) Eteri Andjaparidze, Republic of Georgia Arnaldo Cohen, Venezuela Lucille Chung, Canada Yoshikazu Nagai, Japan 2023 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Saturday March 11: Action testing of competition piano Saturday, March 11: welcome party for competitors, chaperones and host families; drawing for performance order Monday and Tuesday, March 13 & 14: Round I Wednesday and Thursday, March 15 & 16: Round II Friday, March 17: Master Classes and School Ambassador Program; rehearsals with the HHSO for the finalists Saturday, March 18: One-on-One Conversations with the Judges in the morning; Saturday, March 18: Round III Finals (Awards Ceremony & Reception) PRIZES First Prize: $10,000 US cash prize, plus: Concerto performance with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra (2023-2024 Season) Other offered engagements, subject to arrangements with presenters Second Prize: $5,000 US cash prize Third Prize: $3,000 US cash prize 2 Medalists: $1,000 US cash prize each Sascha Gorodnitzki Memorial Prize: $1,000 judges’ discretionary cash prize Peter Takács Classical Sonata Prize: $1000 The Takács Prize will be given for the best performance of a sonata by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert.