Humorous moments
CARL BECHSTEIN national practical piano competition begins in Weimar
18 prospective music teachers from twelve German Music universities and colleges demonstrate their amazing virtuoso skills on the piano and with their voices at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar. The 16th CARL BECHSTEIN National Competition for Practical Piano Playing in Schools will take place from 25 to 28 April 2024 in the Am Palais Hall of the Weimar Music university.
A jury will determine whose skills on the concert grand piano are the most outstanding in free improvisation, song playing, score playing and sight-reading in three public evaluation rounds.
"I am looking forward to the competition because it is a cheerful, no-holds-barred festival of practical school piano playing," says organiser Prof. Gero Schmidt-Oberländer. "I'm looking forward to profound or humorous, authentic and surprising interpretations and moments, but above all to meeting and exchanging ideas with colleagues and students from all over Germany."
The opening concert of the competition will take place on Thursday, 25 April at 8:00 p.m. in the Saal Am Palais. There, Helmut Lörscher will perform solo on the piano with the programme "The Art of the Moment - Soirée of Improvisation". As a master of improvisation, the Freiburg university professor is one of the few pianists who is at home in both jazz and classical music.
The programme includes a colourful mix of jazz standards, arrangements and his own compositions. Tickets cost 20 euros, concessions 15 euros, and are available from the Weimar Tourist Information Centre and at the box office.
The competition participants will be judged by a jury of six, chaired this year by Prof. Ortwin Nimczik (Detmold). Prizes will be awarded in the categories of lied playing, score and sight-reading playing and improvisation. If there is an overall winner, they will receive 1,500 euros in prize money.
The winners will conclude the competition on Sunday, 28 April at 10:00 a.m. with a concert in the Saal Am Palais. Admission to the concert is free.
The "Schupra" competition has been running for more than 30 years, and this year the competition is being organised with a new sponsor. The CARL BECHSTEIN STIFTUNG has taken over from the Braunschweig-based piano manufacturer Grotrian-Steinweg after many years of co-operation. The purpose of the new partner foundation is to promote piano music and piano playing on a broad scale. It supports projects and institutions that introduce children and young people to the piano at an early age and motivate them to play the piano in the long term.
The competition is organised by the Weimar Music university in cooperation with the Bundesverband Musikunterricht (BMU).
Further information:www.hfm-weimar.de/schupra
[19 April 2024]