I International
Gabriela Weiss in Memoriam Piano Competition

Competition regulations


§1 – General Information

  1. The I International Piano Competition "Gabriela Weiss in Memoriam" is organized by the "LIRA" Foundation in cooperation with the city of Mińsk Mazowiecki and the Second Life Foundation. The competition will take place in the Concert Hall of the Municipal Art School named after K. R. Domagała in Mińsk Mazowiecki from July 3 to July 16, 2024.
  2. The competition is held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Mińsk Mazowiecki, Marcin Jakubowski.
  3. The initiator and artistic director of the competition is the pianist and graduate of the piano class of Prof. Gabriela Weiss, Mariusz Adamczak.
  4. The competition is open to pianists of all nationalities aged 16 to 32 (participants must be at least 16 years old on the day of the competition).
  5. The international jury of the competition consists of outstanding pianists and educators.
  6. The elimination and competition repertoire must be performed from memory. In exceptional cases, a participant may be asked to provide the judges with the sheet music of the performed pieces in advance.
  7. The competition auditions are open to the public.
  8. For any inquiries, please contact us by email at: konkursgwim@gmail.com

§2 - Eliminations and Repertoire Requirements

  1. Up to 50 participants will qualify for the competition based on the following qualification criteria:
  • Each candidate must submit a completed application form electronically, along with the required documentation and a video recording. All necessary documents are listed in the application form.
  • Eliminations will be conducted "blindly" – the qualifying judges will not have any information about the participants and will only have access to the audio track of the submitted video recording. The criteria for judging include individual artistic and musical expression, understanding and clarity of interpretation, and technical freedom.
  • Required elimination repertoire: * J.S. Bach - one Prelude and Fugue from WTC vol. I and II, * One Etude by F. Chopin from op. 10 or op. 25, excluding Etudes op. 10 No. 3, 6, 11 and op. 25 No. 1, 7, * F. Chopin - One of the following Nocturnes: op. 9 No. 1,2,3 op.15 No. 1,2, op. 27 No. 1,2, op.37 No. 2, op.48 No. 1,2, op.55 No. 1,2, op.62 No. 1,2
  • The recording or download link must be in mp4 format without cuts during the performance of the pieces and clearly show the pianist with the keyboard. Cuts between pieces are allowed. The recording must not be edited.

2. The competition consists of three rounds:

Round I (up to 20 minutes) - a maximum of 50 participants

  • One work by J.S. Bach (up to 8 minutes) - the performance of selected parts of the cycle and piano transcriptions of J.S. Bach's works are allowed.
  • One or more pieces selected by the participant to fill the time

Round II (up to 40 minutes) - a maximum of 20 participants

  • Free-choice repertoire selected by the participant, including works by composers from the classical era to the present. Presenting one's own composition or improvisation is also allowed (up to 10 minutes; in the case of original compositions, the sheet music in PDF format must be provided, and in the case of improvisations, the theme must be specified). Performing individual or selected parts of a cycle is not allowed; all pieces must be played in their entirety.

Round III - Final with the accompaniment of a string quartet - a maximum of 9 participants

Optionally, a piano concerto chosen from the following:

W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto in F Major, KV 413

W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto in A Major, KV 414

W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto in C Major, KV 415

W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto in C Major, KV 467 (for classical concertos, performing one's own cadenzas is allowed)

F. Chopin - Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 11

F. Chopin - Piano Concerto in F Minor, Op. 21

§3 - Participation Conditions and Course of the Competition

  1. Participation in the "blind" eliminations and the competition requires meeting the age criterion, submitting all required documents with a recording, and confirming the payment of the entry fee of PLN 550 for participants from Poland to the bank account: 41 1020 4476 0000 8402 0519 6722, and EUR 125 for participants from abroad to the bank account: 46 1020 4476 0000 8202 0519 6730 (BIC/SWIFT: BPKOPLPW) by April 15, 2024. (PKO Bank Polski - bank name, IBAN - PL)
  2. The entry fee is non-refundable.
  3. Each of the qualified participants is required to pay the second part of the entry fee in the amount of 550.00 PLN for participants from Poland to the bank account: 41 1020 4476 0000 8402 0519 6722, and the amount of 125 EURO for participants from abroad to the bank account: 46 1020 4476 0000 8202 0519 6730 (BIC/SWIFT: BPKOPLPW) within 10 days from the date of receiving the confirmation via email about qualifying for the main competition.
  4. Each qualified participant must travel to Mińsk Mazowiecki at their own expense from June 30 to July 1, 2024, and register at the registration point at the Municipal Art School in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The participant must inform the organizer of their arrival by June 20, 2024, at the latest.
  5. On July 2, 2024, each registered participant will have 10 minutes for an acoustic rehearsal and to select an instrument for their competition presentation. The competition organizer will provide participants with a choice of at least two high-quality concert instruments. The selected instrument will be assigned to the participant until the end of the competition.
  6. From the day of arrival until the end of participation in the competition, the organizer will provide accommodation for the participants. Accompanying persons are responsible for their accommodation costs.
  7. On July 3, 2024, at 5:00 PM in the Concert Hall of the Municipal Art School, the drawing for the order of competition presentations will take place.
  8. The ceremonial opening of the competition with an opening concert will take place on July 3, 2024, at 7:00 PM.
  9. The competition auditions will begin on July 4, 2024, at 10:00 AM, and will follow the schedule below:

Round I from July 4 to July 6, 2024

Round II from July 7 to July 9, 2024

Final from July 11 to July 13, 2024

  1. The organizer will provide each participant with the opportunity to practice for a minimum of 2 hours daily during the competition.
  2. During the competition, accompanying concerts featuring the competition judges will take place. The exact program of the concerts will be announced when the list of judges is made public, no later than 14 days before the start of the competition. Participants who do not qualify for the next competition round will also be invited to the accompanying concerts at the invitation of the judges.
  3. The competition organizer will provide all participants who do not qualify for the next competition round with the opportunity to participate in courses and discussions with jury members after the completion of Round I and II and after the announcement of the results according to the competition schedule.
  4. The awards ceremony gala and final concert will take place on July 14, 2024, at 4:00 PM, in the Concert Hall of the Municipal Art School in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The laureates' concerts will be repeated on July 15, 2024, and July 16, 2024.
  5. All competition auditions and concerts will be broadcast on the Internet.
  6. Each participant waives all rights to the competition performances and the laureates' concert in favor of the organizer, including images related to promotional materials, press, television, and the Internet.

§4 Regulation and Non-regulation Prizes

  1. Regulation Prizes:

I. Prize - PLN 20,000, concerts in 2025/2027, and a CD recording

II. Prize - PLN 10,000, concerts in 2025/2027

III. Prize - PLN 5,000

Each prize winner will receive the title "Laureate."

Other finalists will receive a Finalist Diploma.

Each competition participant will receive a Participation Diploma.

The complete list of prizes will be published on the competition website before the start of the competition.

  1. During the competition, the jury awards both regulation and non-regulation prizes.
  2. The decision of the jury is final and not subject to appeal.
  3. Each prize winner commits to participating in a laureates' concert; otherwise, they forfeit the right to the prize.

§5 Jury

  1. The jury of the main competition and the elimination round jury will consist of renowned pianists and educators from Poland and abroad.
  2. The elimination jury remains secret until the announcement of the elimination results and the presentation of the official list of participants. None of the judges will evaluate their student if they wish to participate in the eliminations.
  3. The complete International Jury of the main competition will be presented on the competition website no later than June 21, 2024.
  4. Judges may decide to allow fewer participants than stipulated by the regulations to advance to Round II and the final, but the number of participants must not exceed what is specified in the regulations.
  5. All decisions of the judges during the main competition, including the points, will be made public after each competition round.
  6. Each competition section will be evaluated separately. Points will not be summed.
  7. Judges may not evaluate their own students if a situation arises where the student of a judge qualifies for the main competition.

§6 Accommodation

    1. During the competition period, participants will be provided with accommodation and full logistical support by the organizer.
    2. Accompanying persons must arrange their accommodation themselves.
    3. The competition organizers will provide all information about accommodation options and costs in Mińsk Mazowiecki.
    4. In case of rejection of the accommodation provided by the organizers, the participant is obliged to find and pay for their accommodation on their own.

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