Application:
Entry to the Telekom Beethoven Competition 2025 is open to pianists from all nations, as well as stateless persons, who have reached the legal age of maturity under their respective domestic laws and who have not yet reached the age of 33. This means, for example, that participants must have been born after December 13, 1992 (corresponding to the completion of their 32nd year of life / 32nd birthday) and before December 3, 2007 (corresponding to the completion of their 18th year of life / 18th birthday). The person must have been born between December 13, 1992, and December 3, 2007, inclusive. Students of judging panel members (at the time of application, referring to regular instruction over a period of at least one year in the last three years before the Competition) are not eligible to participate. In addition, prior prize winners of the International Telekom Beethoven Competition 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 or 2023 (1st, 2nd, or 3rd prize) are not eligible to participate again.
A selection committee will choose 28 Participants from all the completed registration forms received; they will be invited to the first round in Bonn.
More details: https://www.telekom-beethoven-competition.de/tbc/competition-2025/eligibility.
Awards
First Prize – 50,000 €.
Second Prize – 25,000 €.
Third prize – 10,000 €.
Repertoire:
Qualification round
A prelude and fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach;
One of Ludwig van Beethoven’s last three sonatas op. 109, op. 110 or op. 111
In addition to the registration documents, the applicants must submit a video (the recording may not be edited and may not be cut during the piece) in which they can be clearly seen and heard playing the repertoire. The works for the qualification round are the same as items 1 and 2 in the first judging round. The choice of works for the qualification round is binding for the 1st round. Subsequent changes will not be allowed.
First round (45 minutes)
A prelude and fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach
One of Ludwig van Beethoven’s last three sonatas op. 109, op. 110 or op. 111
One of the following works by Ludwig van Beethoven:
Seven Bagatelles, op. 33
Six Variations on an Original Theme in F major, op. 34
Eleven Bagatelles, op. 119
Six Bagatelles, op. 126
Ten Variations on the theme ‘La stressa, la stessissima’ from the opera ‘Fanstaff’ by Antonio Salieri, WoO 73
Seven Variations on the quartet “Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen?” from Peter Winter’s opera ‘Das unterbrochene Opferfest’, WoO 75
32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80
Two Rondos, op. 51 no. 1 in C major and no. 2 in G major
Fantasy in B major, op. 77
Andante favori in F major WoO 57
Rondo a capriccio ‘Rage over a Lost Penny’ in G major, op. 129 AND Polonaise in C major, op. 89
Second round (60 minutes)
One sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven – but not
No. 1 in F minor, op. 2 no. 1
No. 5 in C minor, op. 10 no. 1
No 6 in F major, op. 10 no. 2
No. 9 in E major, op. 14 no. 1
No. 10 in G major, op. 14 no. 2
No. 19 in G minor, op. 49 no. 1
No. 20 in G major, op. 49 no. 2
No. 22 in F major, op. 54
No 24 in F sharp major, op. 78
No. 30 in E major op. 109
No. 31 in A flat major op. 110
No. 32 in C minor, op. 111
or
33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli in C major, op. 120
or
15 Variations and Fugue in E-flat major, op. 35
One or more works by Johannes Brahms, Carl Czerny, Fanny Hensel, Joseph Haydn, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Franz Liszt, Luise Adolpha Le Beau, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Emilie Mayer, Ignaz Moscheles, Max Reger, Ferdinand Ries, Franz Schubert, Robert, Schumann, Clara Schumann, Richard Strauss, Carl Maria von Weber or Joseph Woelfl.
Third round (Semi-final) (40 minutes)
One of the following sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven
No. 1 in F minor, op. 2 no. 1
No. 5 in C minor, op. 10 no. 1
No 6 in F major, op. 10 no. 2
No. 9 in E major, op. 14 no. 1
No. 10 in G major, op. 14 no. 2
No. 22 in F major, op. 54
No 24 in F sharp major, op. 78
One or more works by Arnold Schönberg, Béla Bartók, Igor Strawinsky, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Sergej Prokofjew, Paul Hindemith, Viktor Ullmann, Hanns Eisler oder Dmitri Schostakowitsch.
Chamber music
A contemporary work from the 21st century (composed after December 31, 2000; chosen by the performer, max. 10 minutes, must not be played from memory)
One of the following piano trios by Ludwig van Beethoven (must not be played from memory), accompanied by chamber music partners Mikhail Ovrutsky (violin) and Grigory Alumyan (cello), members of the Beethoven Trio Bonn:
No. 1 in E flat major, op. 1
No. 2 in G major, op. 1
No. 3 in C minor, op. 1
No. 4 in D major, op. 70
No. 5 in E flat major, op. 70
Final round
Piano concertos by Ludwig van Beethoven
No.1 in C major, op. 15 AND No. 3 in C minor, op.37
or
No. 2 in B flat major op. 19 AND No. 4 in G major op.58
or
No. 5 in E flat major op. 73 AND Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 61 (version for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven)
The jury will decide which work shall be performed in the final.