I – Practical organization
The 27th International Piano Competition will be held from Friday 22th to Sunday 31th March 2019, in Epinal. It is open to pianists born in or after 1989 and no later than 2004.
Registration will be closed on 2019, February 15th or earlier once the total number of registered contestants reach 100. Registration forms that are received after February 15th 2019 will not be taken in consideration.
A registration fee of 110 € (not including banking costs and not refundable) must be transferred at the moment of registration to this account :
Concours International de Piano d’Epinal
4 rue Claude Gelée – 88000 EPINAL
IBAN : FR76 1513 5005 0008 0014 6270 618
BIC : CEPAFRPP513
Domiciliation :
Caisse d’Epargne Epinal Aristide Briand
14 rue Aristide Briand
88000 Epinal
This transfer must be identified with the name of the contestant.
Contestants must register online on this page before 15 February 2019, by sending the following documents:
– copy of identity card or passport,
– curriculum vitae in french or english,
– an recent artistic photo in HD,
– receipt of the registration fee.
All changes of program must be requested by e-mail (no program changes will be accepted after 1st March 2019).
The contestants must present themselves at the Théâtre Municipal d’Epinal, rue François Blaudez, to confirm their arrival in Epinal and to officialise their participation in the competition, on Friday 22th March 2019 between 02:00 and 05:00 pm. They must present an identity card : either a passport or a national identity card. The contestants will participate in a draw to determine the playing order for the first 3 rounds.
Travel and accommodation expenses are paid for by the contestant. However, free accommodation with host families is possible exclusively for the contestant, if requested at the moment of registration and according to availability.
The contestants who have requested accommodation with host families and who will arrive before 22th March, must notify the competition office (familles.cipe@gmail.com) as well as the host family as soon as possible.
A practice piano will be made available in the homes of the host families or at the Conservatory. Each contestant will be allowed to play the competition piano for 5 minutes, upon completion of their registration on Friday 22th March, from 02:00 pm
II – The Competition details
The competition consists of 4 rounds which are open to the public. The first 3 rounds are eliminatory. The first round will take place from Saturday, 23th March through Monday, 25th March ; the second round will take place on Tuesday, 26th March and Wednesday, 27th March, and the semi-final round will take place on Friday, 29th March. At the end of the semi-final round, the jury will choose 4 finalists. A rehearsal with the accompanying Orchestra is scheduled for the finalists on Saturday, 30th March. The final round will take place on Sunday, 31th March 2019.
The Jury is composed of 7 international personalities from the music world. The President of the Jury holds the deciding vote, should there be an equal number of votes. The Jury’s decisions cannot be questioned or appealed.
The Jury may interrupt the performance of a work in cases where the contestant’s playing is clearly insufficient, or if the time limit has been exceeded.
III – Prizes
| 1st Grand Prize of the Ville d’Épinal : | 7000€ |
| 2nd Prize of the Conseil Départemental des Vosges : | 3000€ |
| 3rd Prize of the Conseil Régional Grand Est : | 1500€ |
| 4th Prize of the Caisse d’Épargne : | 1000€ |
Additional prizes will be awarded by the Jury :Contemporary Music Prizeof SACEM for the best performance of the Poème for piano, opus 5 by Elise Bertrand in the semi-final round.
Prize of “Jeunesses Musicales de France” for the best French contestant.
Audience Prize awarded by Konica Minolta, attributed by the audience for the best interpretation of the Concerto.
Prize of the best Chopin Etude awarded by Pianist Maurizio Baglini
Prize of the Best Beethoven Sonata awarded by Pianist Hie-Yon Choi
The Jury is not obliged to award all the prizes.
Winners of the competition will also have the benefit of playing at festivals such as Concerts Classiques d’Epinal, Rencontres Internationales de Musique de Mirecourt, Musique Espérance Saint-Dié, Music Conservatory of Saint-Dié, Festival Bach de Toul… The engagement conditions will be directly proposed to the prizewinners. The Competition does not take part to these negotiations.
Contestants in the first and second rounds may receive a certificate attesting to their participation in the competition.
The Competition’s public rounds may be broadcast live and/or re-broadcast by radio, television or Internet. The rounds may also be recorded and/or filmed for reproduction on various formats (CD, DVD, etc.). In keeping with the Competition’s reputation, the contestants give the Competition the right to record or film a performance, to reproduce it or have it reproduced on any format and to broadcast it by any and all means throughout the world. This transfer of rights is valid for a period of 50 years from the moment of the performance.
Entering the competition entails the acceptance of its rules and procedures ; the French text stands as legal reference.