Competition

This competition gives pianists of all nationalities the opportunity to compete with each other with the following objective: the actualization and emphasis on the importance of Bach-interpretation in both, concert life and the educational field. The extensive program dedicated exclusively to the original keyboard works of J. S. Bach is unique, and has a particularly positive result: many candidates—whether they won a prize or not—have since the competition enriched their concert repertoire with Bach’s works. To that extent, it is not comparable with other competitions, as our goal is not only to award prizes to the best pianists, but to promote and redefine Bach interpretation on the modern piano, finding a balance between stylistically/historically informed interpretation and new ideas with prospects for the future.

This competition can also be considered to have a pedagogical purpose, as contestants are encouraged to listen to and discuss other interpretations. The large number of participants, as well as the number of contestants who return to take part in this competition (often more than once), is a testament to this, as well as the friendly atmosphere of this contest. Another aspect of this competition seems even more important to us, especially in the current political climate: this is a unique opportunity to create an understanding and dialogue, as well as to foster ties between young musicians from various national backgrounds, all within a framework of respectful contest with each other.

Since its inception, the International Piano Competition J. S. Bach, Würzburg has made a special name for itself in the musical world: with 771 competitions from 58 countries, it occupies one of the leading positions among piano competitions, it now occupies one of the leading positions among piano competitions and is now the world’s largest Bach Competition by number of participants, repeat participation, and size of repertoire.

This competition prides itself on the transparency, and lack of political agenda unfortunately present in many competitions in the world. Any juror that taught a contestant (whether as a regular teacher, or in the case of a masterclass) refrains from voting on that contestant during the competition. Jury members also provide detailed feedback to all contestants that do not make it into the second round, and often provide feedback to contestants of other rounds after the competition.

The International Piano Competition J. S. Bach, Würzburg now has a strong online presence, with a recently opened Facebook account and YouTube channel, created as a platform for all contestants of the Competition. These sites are a forum intended to start up dialogues, to share thoughts, questions, comments, and suggestions about Bach interpretation. Contestants and laureates of this competition promote their upcoming concerts, masterclasses, recordings, journal articles and other publications, forming an international community of musicians that are in touch with the ever-evolving Bach interpretation and aware of the latest achievements of their colleagues.