Scottish International Piano Competition is returning to Glasgow for the first time since 2017

2017 Scottish International Piano Competition prize winner Can Çakmur with Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Thomas Søndergård (Photo Robin Mitchell)

The Scottish International Piano Competition is returning to Glasgow for the first time since 2017. From 1 to 10 September 2023, thirty musicians will be competing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with the finale at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Established in 1986 as a memorial to Scottish pianist Frederic Lamond (the second-last surviving pupil of Franz Liszt). It is open to pianists of any nationality, aged between 18 and 30, and recent prize winners, including Pavel Kolesnikov (who took third prize in 2010) and Tom Poster (who took first prize in 2007), have gone on to enjoy major international careers following their success in the competition. Running roughly triennially, the last competition was in 2017 when the winner was Turkish pianist, Can Çakmur.

Three solo recital stages, including the semi-final, take place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, from 1-7 September. Three finalists will perform with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on the afternoon of 10 September at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, conducted by David Niemann. Niemann was second prize winner of the 2015 Malko Conducting Competition, he was appointed Assistant Conductor at the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, where he worked alongside chief conductor Michael Schønwandt for the following three seasons.

All competitors will play in Stages 1 and 2. A maximum of ten competitors will be selected to play in Stage 3 (semi-final). Three competitors will be selected to play in Stage 4 (final). Top prize is £15,000, second prize is £10,000, third prize is £5,000 and best performance of the compulsory work is £500. A guest recital will kick off the competition on 31 August with soloist Tanya Gabrielian (who took first prize in 2004).

Full details from the competition website.