RULES

1. “Carles & Sofia International Piano Competition” is an online competition, open to all pianists of all countries in the world. 

2. Contestants will have to submit videos which should be available for watching online (YouTube, Vimeo or similar) and must be recorded no more than one year before the submission.

3. Complete live performance of each piece is to be performed like on regular competition, and video editing or playback are forbidden. Edited material or added effects in the recordings will not be accepted.

4. Stopping the video camera during the entire recording of the same piece is not allowed. Contestants can submit multiple videos, with different pieces, if the total time for each category is respected.

5. On the recording, instrument, hands, and face of the performer must be clearly seen.

6. The judgement will be made exclusively upon material received.

7. The contestants whose teacher is in the jury will not be judged by him / her. All jury members will inform beforehand to the organisation, of any relationship with any of the contestants.

8. – By applying, the participant accepts the regulations, the general policies, the terms of use, and the privacy policy of the competition.

9. – Applications of minor musicians must be filled and submitted by their parents or legal guardian (tutor).

10. – Once the application fee is submitted, it cannot be reimbursed.

11. – The international jury’s decisions are final and not to be discussed. The individual jury’s votes and opinions are strictly confidential.

12. Each candidate consent to “Carles & Sofia International Piano Competition” the processing of their personal data for putting all materials sent on the website or Social Media or any other communication and publicity materials of “Carles & Sofia International Piano Competition”. The consent of the processing data of minor contestants will automatically be given by their parents or legal guardians, upon application.

CATEGORIES
The competition is divided in 2 categories:

1- PIANO SOLO

2- PIANO 4 HANDS (4 hands in one piano)

Each category is divided in:
A: until 8 year old
B: 9 to 12 year old
C: 13 to 16 year old
EMERGENT: 17 to 21 year old
PROFESSIONAL: 22 and beyond
AMATEUR: Non-professional musicians, 16 and above, without limit.

Notes:
The age counts as per the deadline of the competition: 30th of June, 2023.
In the Piano 4 hands, the category has to be chosen according to the average age of the two members.
*Contestants can apply to more than one category and can apply to a higher category than their real age.

REPERTOIRE

Each contestant / duo presents a free repertoire with the following maximum lengths:
Category A: up to 10 minutes long.
Category B: up to 15 minutes long.
Category C: up to 20 minutes long.
Emergent: up to 25 minutes long.
Professional: Up to 30 minutes long.
Amateur: Up to 15 minutes long.

Concertos for piano and orchestra (either with orchestra or with a second piano) are accepted.

*Contestants can submit more than one video, as long as the total number of minutes is respected.

SCORING SYSTEM
Each contestant will receive a total mark of 100 maximum for the overall performance.
The following prizes will be awarded according to the marks received by the Jury members:

CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY AWARD
2 Victory Awards to the best contestants of Professional Category in PIANO SOLO
(with a minimum mark of 95/100)

2 Victory Awards to the best contestants of Emergent Category in PIANO SOLO
(with a minimum mark of 95/100)

1 Victory Award to the best duo of Professional Category in PIANO 4 HANDS
(with a minimum mark of 95/100)

1 Victory Award to the best duo of Emergent Category in PIANO 4 HANDS
(with a minimum mark of 95/100)

GOLD HANDS AWARD
To the contestants who have obtained a mark of 91-100

SILVER HANDS AWARD
To the contestants who have obtained a mark of 86-90

BRONZE HANDS AWARD
To the contestants who have obtained a mark of 80-85

Honor mentions can be awarded following jury’s recommendations.

1- CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY AWARDS
There will be a total of 6 CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY AWARDS:
2 Victory Awards in Piano Solo / Professional
2 Victory Awards in Piano Solo / Emergent
1 Victory Award in Piano 4 Hands / Professional
1 Victory Award in Piano 4 Hands / Emergent

The winners of the CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY AWARD IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY will receive:

  • CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY‘S TROPHY (exclusive design)
  • RECORDING AND DIGITAL PUBLISHING OF A CD offered by KNS CLASSICAL (See details here)
  • CONCERT WITH ORCHESTRA IN FLORIDA, USA, offered by Maestro Zdrava.
  • PARTICIPATION in the GALA CONCERT in Girona, Spain, the birth town of Carles & Sofia and in Barcelona*
    (to be held in July 2024)
    *Travel and accomodation expenses at contestants’charge.
  • PARTICIPATION IN THE “TRIBUTE TO ALICIA DE LARROCHA PROJECT”
  • OTHER CONCERT OPPORTUNITIES, according to juries’recommendations.
  • MENTORING SESSION with Carles & Sofia.
  • E-DIPLOMA
  • DISPLAY IN THE “WALL OF HONOR” OF THE COMPETITION.


The winners of the CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY AWARD IN THE EMERGENT CATEGORY AND IN THE FOUR HANDS CATEGORY will receive:

  • CARLES & SOFIA VICTORY‘S TROPHY (exclusive design)
  • RECORDING AND DIGITAL PUBLISHING OF A CD offered by KNS CLASSICAL (See details here)
  • PARTICIPATION in the GALA CONCERT in Girona, Spain, the birth town of Carles & Sofia and in Barcelona*
    (to be held in July 2024)
    *Travel and accomodation expenses at contestants’charge.
  • PARTICIPATION IN THE “TRIBUTE TO ALICIA DE LARROCHA PROJECT”
  • OTHER CONCERT OPPORTUNITIES, according to juries’recommendations.
  • MENTORING SESSION with Carles & Sofia.
  • E-DIPLOMA
  • DISPLAY IN THE “WALL OF HONOR” OF THE COMPETITION.

2- The winners of the GOLD HANDS AWARDS will receive:

  • PARTICIPATION in the GALA CONCERT in Girona, Spain, the birth town of Carles & Sofia and in Barcelona*
  • (to be held in July 2024)
    *Travel and accomodation expenses at contestants’charge.
  • PARTICIPATION IN THE “TRIBUTE TO ALICIA DE LARROCHA PROJECT”
  • E-DIPLOMA
  • DISPLAY IN THE “WALL OF HONOR” OF THE COMPETITION.
  • Possible other concert opportunities or other awards, according to juries’ recommendations.

3- The winners of the SILVER AND BRONZE HANDS AWARDS will receive an E-DIPLOMA.

Note: Gold, Silver and Bronze Hands awardees will have the possibility to acquire a trophy.

4- BEST COMPOSER’S PERFORMANCE AWARDS
PIANO SOLO: The competition has set several “BEST COMPOSER’S PERFORMANCE AWARDS” for the following composers:
Bach / Beethoven / Haydn / Mozart / Chopin / Liszt / Brahms / Schubert / Schumann / Albéniz / Granados / Mompou / Rachmaninov / Prokofiev / Debussy / Ravel / Falla / Best 20-21st century performance

PIANO FOUR HANDS: The competition has set several “BEST COMPOSER’S PERFORMANCE AWARDS” for the following composers:
Bach / Beethoven / Mozart / Brahms / Schubert / Schumann / Rachmaninov / Debussy / Ravel / Falla / Best 20-21st century performance

Contestants can receive a recognition and an E-Diploma on this achievement as well.

5- SPECIAL AWARD: THE STEINWAY EXPERIENCE
Jorquera Pianos, Spain Steinway & Sons official dealer and exclusive representative in Catalonia, is pleased to award a Special Prize: “The Jorquera-Steinway Experience”.
One of the winners of the “Carles & Sofia’s Victory Awards” of the Professional Category will be selected to enjoy the exclusive Jorquera-Steinway Experience: one-to-one lesson about the construction, the features and the secrets of a Steinway D + Professional recording of a video while playing on a Steinway D.
Jorquera Pianos was founded in 1853 and has gained an enormous and well-deserved reputation by serving great personalities of the music world, as well as the most important entities and institutions.
At the beginning of the sixties, Victor Jorquera assisted many times Artur Rubinstein on his world tours, as a trustworthy technician and tuner, on a relationship that went beyond the professional link.
Some other entities and musicians who have trusted in Jorquera Pianos are the Palau de la Música or the Gran Teatre del Liceu, as well as music stars such as Montserrat Caballé, Alicia de Larrocha, Alfredo Kraus and many others.
In addition, Jorquera Pianos will bring a perfectly prepared Steinway D-274 for the Victory Award’winners to be able to make the recordings at 44.1 estudi de gravació, for KNS Classical.

SCHEDULE
DEADLINE OF SUBMISSIONS: 30th of June, 2024 (11:59PM PST)
RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT: 31st of July, 2024

FEES
ENTERING FEE: 75 € + 25 € per category
+25 € for application to “Best composer’s” performance (optional)