The first Taiwan International Piano Competition sponsored by the Council for Cultural Affairs is to kick off tomorrow and 32 contestants selected from more than 160 candidates around the world will perform the designated repertoire at the National Concert Hall.
The council said that candidates may be of any nationality and must be aged 16 to 31. The aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for promising young pianists to present their talent, artistry and inspiration, the council said.
Secondarily, the competition organizers seek to promote classical music and stimulate inter-cultural communication, the council said.
The contestants are required to play not only the traditional repertoire in the first stage of the preliminary round of the competition, which contains one piece by each of three famous wildly composers: Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. In the second stage of the preliminary round, Phantasy for Piano composed by Kin Shi-wen (
The council said the preliminary round is scheduled to be held from Wednesday to Saturday. Twelve contestants will advance to the semi-final round.
The semi-final round is slated to take place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, after which six finalists will advance to play from Oct. 4 and Oct. 5.
The the council said the public who are interested in the concert can buy tickets at the National Concert Hall.
The first prize is a gold medal, US$20,000 and 10 concert engagements, two of which will be held in New York and Barletta, Italy.
The medal was designed by Taiwanese renowned designer Chen Chun-liang (
All prizewinners will perform at the Prizewinners' Concert, which will be held at the National Concert Hall on Oct. 5.
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