Requirements
The Junior Category is open to children and young people under 18 years of age who are not yet studying music full-time (at a university, conservatory or similar). There are two Category Classes based on age.
The registration deadline for the Juniors competition category has been extended to February 6, 2023!
Age Group I: ages 13 and under
Age Group II: ages 14-17
Eligibility is based on age on the first day of the competition (4th May 2023). You can check your age on that date here:
The deadline for video submissions to the Preliminary Round is February, 6th 2023. After the video submissions have been adjudicated, between 12 and 15 competitors per Age Group Class will be selected to advance into the First Round in Meiningen.
Competitors selected for the First Round will receive jury feedback in the form of 30-minute masterclasses to be held on 7th May 2023 after the Junior competition rounds have been completed. The exact scheduling of the masterclasses will be determined by the organizers.
Repertoire
Age Group I: ages 13 and under
Preliminary Round (Video Submission):
- Time limit: 10 minutes
- Required works: two movements chosen from one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s French Suites BWV 812-817
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely.
First Round:
- Time limit: 15 minutes
- Required works: one virtuosic étude/study and one piece or movement from the Classical era
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely. You will not be disadvantaged if you choose to play one movement or a selection of movements from a longer work.
Final Round:
- Time limit: 15 minutes
- Required work: one piece from the Romantic era
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely. You will not be disadvantaged if you choose to play one movement or a selection of movements from a longer work.
Age Group II: ages 14-17
Preliminary Round (Video Submission):
- Time limit: 15 minutes
- Required works: three movements chosen from one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partitas BWV 825–830
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely.
First Round:
- Time limit: 15 minutes
- Required works: one virtuosic étude/study and the main movement from one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely. You will not be disadvantaged if you choose to play a single movement or a selection of movements from a longer work.
Final Round:
- Time limit: 25 minutes
- Required work: one piece from the Romantic era
- Additional pieces may be chosen freely. You will not be disadvantaged if you choose to play a single movement or a selection of movements from a longer work.
Notes on choosing free repertoire:
The jury will take into account the stylistic diversity and the artistic and technical demands of the repertoire chosen. Pieces that meet any of the following criteria will also be looked on favorably:
- Pieces by composers, the interpretation of whose works by Hans von Bülow set a benchmark in terms of fidelity to composer intentions: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky.
- Pieces (or transcriptions and arrangements for piano) by composers with connections to Meiningen: Hans von Bülow, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Max Reger, Günter Raphael.
- New music composed after 1970 (works for prepared piano are not allowed).
Time limits refer to the total duration of the music played, not including the breaks between pieces or movements. Repeats may be played within the time limits given.
The program for the video round must be played from memory and recorded with no cuts or editing. The competitor must be completely visible, including their feet. The camera should not be placed more than five meters away from the competitor.
During the competition rounds, the order in which the pieces are played may be chosen by the competitor. The program order for the Prize Winners’ Concerts will be decided by the jury.
Jury
Competition judges for the Preliminary Video Round in the Juniors Category in January/February 2023
To maintain transparency, the video submissions in the Preliminary Round will be adjudicated by a separate jury. The chair of the jury is Prof Christian Wilm Müller. The jury for the Preliminary Round will meet in Meiningen to make their adjudications.
The competitors selected for the First Round in May in Meiningen will be notified in February 2023.
- Chair
- Prof. Christian Wilm
Müller
- Born in Meiningen, Christian Wilm Müller is professor and teaches piano and piano chamber music at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar. >>> more
- Juror
- Prof. Imre
Rohmann
- Imre Rohmann, who was born in Hungary, lives and teaches in Salzburg, Austria.
- Juror
- Aris Alexander
Blettenberg
- Aris Alexander Blettenberg was first prize winner conducting from the piano in 2015 in Meiningen. In autumn 2021 he won the 16th International Beethoven Competition in Wien, Austria. >>> more
Competition judges in the Juniors Category in May 2023 in Meiningen
- Chair
- Prof. Christian Wilm
Müller
- Born in Meiningen, Christian Wilm Müller is professor and teaches piano and piano chamber music at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany. >>> more
- Jurorin
- Prof. Sontraud
Speidel
- Sontraud Speidel is Professor of Piano and a member of the Pro Hochschule committee at the Karlsruhe University of Music in Germany. >>> more
- Juror
- em. Prof. Martin
Hughes
- Born in England, Martin Hughes is Professor Emeritus of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. >>> more
- Juror
- Prof. Henri
Sigfridsson
- Born in Finland, Henri Sigfridsson is Professor of Piano at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany. >>> more
- Juror
- Dr. Paul
Rickard-Ford
- Born in Melbourne, Australia, Paul Rickard-Ford is Head of the Piano Department at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.. >>> more
- Information
Regulations
- The guidelines for the work of our jury (pdf file) can be found here. The decisions of the jury are final and cannot be contested.
Prizes
Age Group I: ages 13 and under
1st Prize: €1000
2nd Prize: €600
3rd Prize: €400
Age Group II: ages 14-17
1st Prize: €1000
2nd Prize: €600
3rd Prize: €400
An Audience Favorite Prize (€500, sponsored by Kuratorium Kulturstadt Meiningen e.V.) will be awarded at the concerts following the competition.
5 x €100 vouchers for the purchase of sheet music
The two 1st prize winners will also receive the opportunity to make a professional recording of their competition repertoire. The recording sessions will take place directly after the competition on Monday 8th May 2023. The costs of this (recording, mastering, and reproduction) will be borne by the organizers.
Competition Fees
The fee of €100 includes participation in the competition from the Preliminary Round onwards, as well as the jury feedback in the form of a 30-minute masterclass for those competitors selected to advance into the First Round.
Competition Schedule
The deadline for video submissions to the Preliminary Round is February, 6th 2023.
The competition begins with a closed Preliminary Round of video submissions in January/February 2023. Successful entrants will be informed of their selection for the First Round in Meiningen in February 2023.
The competition rounds in Meiningen are open to the public and will be held at the Concert Hall of the Max Reger Conservatorium. The winners perform in a ceremonial concert concluding the competition on 7th May 2023, at which the prizes will be officially awarded.
The competition in Meiningen will open on the evening of 4th May 2023 with a concert performed by a former prize winner. On Friday 5th May 2023 the First Round of the two Age Group Classes will take place. The selected finalists in each Class then compete in the Final Round on Saturday 6th May 2023.
The masterclasses with members of the jury for all competitors selected for the First Round of the competition will be held on the morning of Sunday 7th May 2023. The Prize Winners’ Concert will take place on Sunday afternoon at the Brahms Concert Hall at the Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen.
The competitors will be informed in advance of the availability of practice facilities, as well as warm-up and performance times.
Times given are guidelines only. The organizers expressly reserve the right to make small changes to the competition schedule.