In September the 14th edition of the International Schubert Competition Dortmund will start the 14th edition of its piano competition. With 138 pianists from 31 nations, more young musicians than ever before have registered for the piano competition with a special focus on Franz Schubert’s works. “The fact that so many young musicians are spending time and effort in Schubert’s music even in these difficult times shows the importance of this competition both for Dortmund and internationally,” said Prof. Arnulf von Arnim, artistic director of the piano category.
The International Schubert Competition Dortmund has been held with great success in the heart of the Ruhr area since 1987 and once again proves how well this region and high culture go together. It awards prizes in the categories of “Piano” and “LiedDuo” and has set itself the task of encouraging top-class young artists to start their careers. At the same time, the participants and the audience are introduced to the ideas of Schubert’s music with an intensity that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. As a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, this competition is one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world. With Arnulf von Arnim (Germany), Ingeborg Danz (Germany), Ian Fountain (Great Britain), Gabriel Kwok (Hong Kong), Ewa Kupiec (Poland), Oleg Maisenberg (Russia), Tamás Ungár (Hungary), Elisso Virssaladze (Georgia) and Idith Zvi (Israel) the jury will again be international. The task of this top-class jury will be to evaluate the 40 participants invited to Dortmund after a qualified pre-selection based on application videos submitted.
After the competition had to be postponed by one year due to Corona Pandemic, the organizers of the Schubert competition are pleased to be able to hold it in Dortmund from September 25 to October 3, 2021 this year. After three rounds, in which the young pianists present a broad repertoire of Franz Schubert’s music, three of them make it to the final round of the competition.
The orchestra finale will take place on October 2nd, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the Orchesterzentrum NRW in Dortmund in cooperation with the Duisburg Philharmonic under the baton of Martin Fratz. Unfortunately, there are no piano concertos by Franz Schubert, but his admired predecessor Ludwig van Beethoven left five of them, from which the pianist can freely choose. The prize winners of the competition will present themselves in the Laureate’s Concert with a selection of the competition program on October 3, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. in the compressor hall of the former Hansa coking plant and will receive their awards.