Competition terms 2011

Competition Terms About

The 63rd Prague Spring International Music Competition, a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in Geneva, will be held from 7 to 15 May 2011 in Prague for the instrumentals Piano (in memory of Rudolf Firkušný) and Trombone.

The competition is intended for artists of all nationalities who:

  • satisfy the age requirement – up to age 30 (i.e. who were born on or after 7 May 1981) and
  • who have not already won the 1st prize in the Prague Spring International Music Competition in the relevant instrumental field.

Persons interested in participating in the competition should register at the website www.prague-spring.net and send the documents to the address:

Mezinárodní hudební soutěž Pražské jaro Festival Pražské jaro
Hellichova 18
118 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic

With the application form, please enclose:

  • audio recording (CD or minidisk) – labeled with a password with a recording of high technical quality of the compositions listed in the “Repertoire” section of these terms and conditions. The recording quality must comply with professional standards. The choice of candidates invited to participate at the competition in Prague will be made on the basis of this recording and will be anonymous, and the recording must be marked with a password for this reason.
    The authenticity of the recording should be attested to by a pedagogue or other musical expert (e.g. the recording producer or sound engineer). Failure to comply with the established program requirements will be grounds for disqualification.
  • a copy of your birth certificate
  • a photograph (portrait) suitable for reproduction and signed legibly
  • confirmation of payment of the administrative fee (for costs associated with registration and the preliminary round) of EUR 25 onto acct. no. 3633372/0800 at the bank Česká spořitelna, IBAN CZ64 0800 0000 0000 03633372, B.I.C. GIBACZPX.
    (Parties interested in paying in the currency CZK should contact the festival office regarding a different account number.)

The enclosed materials are not returned.

Deadline for submitting applications – 15 December 2010
(Based on the date of the postmark)

By 15 February 2011 candidates will be informed about whether their application has been accepted. Candidates receiving notification that their applications have been accepted shall remit payment of the entry fee of EUR 75 no later than by 31 March 2011. The entry fee is non-refundable.

The candidates themselves are responsible for all travel and accommodation expenses for the duration of Round I. Beginning in Round II, candidates will have paid accommodation at a hotel selected by the competition organizer for the duration of the candidates’ active participation in the competition. Prizewinners will have accommodation paid until the prizes are presented. If a candidate arranges for other accommodation that those provided by the competition organizer, Prague Spring will not pay for the accommodation.

Trombone

  • Opening of competition and drawing — 7 May
  • Round I — 8 and 9 May
  • Round II — 11 May
  • Round III — 13 May (concert as part of the festival)

Piano

  • Opening of competition and drawing — 8 May
  • Round I — 9 and 10 May
  • Round II — 12 May
  • Round III — 14 May (concert as part of the festival)

Award presentation ceremony — 15 May

The competition organizers reserves the right to make changes to the schedule above.

The following artists have agreed to sit on the jury:

Trombon

Piano

For each instrument, the 63rd Prague Spring International Music Competition is offering the following prizes:

  • 1st Prize — CZK 200,000
  • 2nd Prize — CZK 100,000
  • 3rd Prize — CZK 50,000

The prize money is stated in gross amounts, meaning that taxes and/or other fees may be withheld from prize money in accordance with valid Czech legislation.

If the quality of performing of the candidates is not of the required level, the jury may decide whether or not to award all of the prizes offered, or it may choose to award none of them, if it deems the quality of performance of the candidates to be below the usual competition standards for the awarding of prizes. If candidates are of equal quality, the jury may award the same level of prize, in which case the prize money is combined and then divided equally for prizes on the same level. At the same time, care must be taken that the amount of prize money is not contrary to the order of the results and does not exceed the total amount of prize money offered.

1st prize may be awarded only once. The winners of these main prizes also earn the title “competition laureate.”

For each instrument

  • Honorable mention of the jury may also be awarded to some of the outstanding candidates in the Round II, who do not advance to Round III.
  • The Czech Radio Prize – free studio recording and presentation of the best laureate broadcast by Czech Radio
  • The Czech Music Fund Foundation Prize for the best performance of compositions written for the 2011 Prague Spring International Music Competition – CZK 15,000
  • The City of Prague Prize for the most successful laureate
  • The Prize of the Bärenreiter Music Publisher in the form of a gift certificate for the selection of publications of Editio Bärenreiter Praha and Bärenreiter Verlag Kassel
  • The prize of the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation in the form of printed music from the archives of Viktor Kalabis
  • The Hollar Prize (graphics) for the 1st prize winner
  • The Miro Gallery Prize for the most successful laureate
  • Crystal prizes manufactured in the Moser studio for the winners of the main prizes

Prizes awarded jointly for both instruments

  • The Oleg Podgorný Prize for the most successful, youngest Czech participant in the entire competition – CZK 25,000 awarded by the Artist’s Life Foundation. Prague Spring contributes a work by an outstanding Czech graphic artist.
  • The Gustav Mahler Prize to the youngest finalist in the whole competition – CZK 20,000 donated by the Mahler 2000 Society
  • The Gideon Klein Foundation Prize for the most successful Czech participant in the entire competition – CZK 15,000

This prize money is also stated in gross amounts.
Winning these additional prizes does not entitle the winners to the title of “competition laureate.”

For each of the instruments

  • A paid appearance at the 67th annual Prague Spring International Music Festival in 2012 for 1st prize winners in both fields

Concert appearances jointly for laureates of both instruments (the organizers reserve the right to choose a laureate from a single category)

  • Prize of the Pro Harmonia Mundi Foundation, Switzerland – a paid performance at the Ticino Musica International Gathering of Young Musicians
  • International Festival Mitte Europa
  • EuroArt Praha International Music Festival
  • Young Prague International Music Festival
  • Young Stage Festival as part of the cycle Czech Culture Festivities
  • Treasures of Broumov Festival
  • Central European Festival of Concert Art in Žilina

Paid performances as part of the subscription series in the 2011/2012 season for winners of one of the main prizes:

  • Czech Chamber Music Society of the Czech Philharmonic
  • Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín
  • Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
  • Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra
  • Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra in Pardubice
  • Moravian Philharmonic in Olomouc
  • Antonín Dvořák Memorial at Vysoká u Příbrami
  • Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra
  • North Czech Philharmonic Teplice

More prizes are being negotiated and will be announced on the website www.prague-spring.net/soutezni-pravidla and in the competition catalogue.

For both instruments

The competition will be held in three rounds, and the number of candidates is limited. 50 competitors may enter Round I, a maximum of 12 candidates may advance to Round II, and at the most 4 candidates advance to Round III.

The jury is entitled to determine the order of compositions or of individual parts of compositions for competition performances.

The work written by a Czech composer for the 2011 Prague Spring International Music Competition will be sent to the candidates together with announcement of their acceptance in the competition.

The competition repertoire listed in the application by the candidate is binding and may not be changed.

Performing from photocopies of published printed music during public performances is a violation of copyright law, and the performer assumes liability for any legal sanctions.

The competition performances are public in all three rounds.

Any radio or television broadcasts of festival performances will be available to Prague Spring and will serve for promotion of the competition. Any commercial use of the recordings will be the subject matter of further negotiation.

Trombone

Preliminary selection round (recording on CD):

  • G. B. Pergolesi: Sinfonia

Round I:

  • Henri Duttileux: Choral, cadence et fugato (Alphonse Leduc, Paris 1950)
  • G. B. Pergolesi: Sinfonia, arr. Ralph Sauer (Wimbledon Music Inc. 1977) – memorized

Round II:

  • One of the following compositions:
    Jacques Castérède: Sonatina (Alphonse Leduc, Paris, France 1958)
    Juraj Filas: Sonata “Ke konci století” (“At the End of the Century”), (Edition BIM, 1997)
    Paul Hindemith: Sonata (Schott Music, 1942)
    Stjepan Šulek: Sonata (The Brass Press, 1975)
  • J. Guy Ropartz: Pièce en Si bémol mineur pour trombone et piano (Alphonse Leduc, Paris, France)
  • A work composed for the 2011 Prague Spring International Music Competition (composer: Ivan Kurz)

Piano accompanists — A candidate may perform with his/her own pianist, but the candidate must pay for all of the pianist’s travel and accommodation expenses. A candidate not performing with his/her own pianist must make a request in the application form that the competition organizers secure the services of an official accompanist.
The pianos will be tuned at 442 Hz.

Round III - finals

in cooperation with the Prague Philharmonia, conductor: Zbyněk Müller

  • Josef Matěj: Sonata for Trombone and Strings – (Panton – Schott)
  • G. Ch. Wagenseil: Concerto (Universal Edition, Wien, 1979) – memorized

The works are listed in alphabetical order. Before each round begins, the jury will decide the order in which the works will be played during competition performances.
The editions listed are only recommended.

Piano

Preliminary selection round (CD recording):

  • One of the following etudes of the candidate’s choice:
    Fryderyk Chopin:
    Etudes, op. 10: No. 1 in C Major or No. 2 in A Minor or No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor or No. 7 in C Major or No. 8 in F Major or No. 10 in A-Flat Major or Etudes, op. 25: No. 6 in G-Sharp Minor or No. 11 in A Minor
    or Franz Liszt: one of the following Transcendental Etudes: Etude No. 4 (Mazeppa) or Etude No. 5 (Feux Follets) or Etude No. 10 (F Minor) or Etude No.12 (Chasse-Neige)
  • W. A. Mozart: first movement from one of the following sonatas:
    A Minor, KV 310 or C Major, KV 330 or B-Flat Major, KV 333 or C Minor, KV 457 or B-Flat Major, KV 570 or D Major, KV 576

Round I:

  • One of the following etudes of the candidate’s choice:
    Fryderyk Chopin: one of the etudes listed above (see the recording list) or
    Franz Liszt: one of the Transcendental etudes (see the recording list)
  • W. A. Mozart: first movement of one of the sonatas required for the recording
  • Bedřich Smetana: one of the following movements from the Czech Dances:
    Polka in A Minor, Slepička (The Little Hen), Cibulička (The Little Onion), Hulán (The Lancer), Sousedská (The Neighbor Dance).

Round II:

A recital with interesting programming lasting 40 – 50 minutes:
The recital will include a performance of a work composed for the 2011 Prague Spring International Music Competition lasting 5-7 minutes (composer Luboš Sluka) as well as works from at least two stylistic periods. Competitors may not include in the recital any works they played in Round I.

Round III - finals

in cooperation with the Prague Philharmonia, conductor: Petr Vronský One of the following concertos

  • Antonín Dvořák: Concerto in G Minor, op. 33 (Supraphon edition, editor: Kurz)
    Edvard Grieg: Concerto in A Minor, op. 16
    Fryderyk Chopin: Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, op. 21
    Franz Liszt: Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major
    Robert Schumann: Concerto in A Minor, op. 54

Works must be played by memory in all three rounds.

The works are listed in alphabetical order. Before each round begins, the jury will decide the order in which the works will be played during competition performances.

The terms and conditions of this competition have been drawn up in accordance with the Competition Rules of the Prague Spring International Music Competition dated 3 March 2009. The terms and conditions of the competition have been published in the Czech, English, French and German languages. In case of any dispute, the Czech text is regarded as being authentic.