61 pianists to honor the Maria Canals competition

Barcelona"Music lovers and piano fans have an unmissable event," says Jordi Vivancos, artistic director of the Maria Canals International Competition. The enthusiasm is justified, because this Sunday marks the start of the 70th edition of the oldest music competition in Spain and because once again pianos enrich Barcelona's spring season. As usual, the competitive activity is concentrated at the Petit Palau de la Música, but there are also many initiatives spread throughout the city.

The competition itself began this Sunday with the first rounds and will conclude on April 2 with the final at the Palau de la Música. Of the 116 applicants, 61 pianists from 25 countries have been selected. The largest contributors, with eight each, are South Korea and Spain (including two Catalans: Víctor Braojos from Barcelona and Guillem León from Badalona). There are also pianists from Japan (6), Russia (3), France (3), China (3), Taiwan (3), the United States (2), Italy (2), and Croatia (2), among others. All of them are competing for prizes valued at more than 80,000 euros. The first prize, sponsored by the Fundación Occidente, is worth 25,000 euros and four concerts in the regular seasons of different Spanish symphony orchestras. The second prize, awarded by the Fundació Carulla, is 10,000 euros; and the third, awarded by the Vila Casas Foundation, is 6,000 euros. As a new addition, the Ricard Viñas Prize, worth 1,500 euros, has been added. The jury that will decide the awards is made up of pianists who have won prizes in other editions of the Maria Canals competition, such as Yukiko Akagi, Enrique Bagaría, Carlos Cebro, Regina Chernychko, Frédéric Lagarde, and David Lively, as well as María Luis Cantos, Ewa Osinska, and Ute Weyand.

When Jordi Vivancos speaks of an unmissable event, he also means it because the public has the opportunity to participate as an audience in all the qualifying rounds, and at very affordable prices: 5 euros for the two first rounds, 10 for the semi-final, and 20 for the final. The incentive is worth it, given the quality of the performers and the repertoire. "These days at the Palau de la Música you will be able to hear piano classics such as Beethoven, Rahmaninov, Bach, and Chopin, as well as unknown works from the repertoire of both contemporary and Catalan music, and also by women composers. Therefore, it is a unique opportunity to enjoy the classics and discover new repertoire," says Vivan.

Outside of the competition, Maria Canals has a program that officially began with a welcome event at the Barcelona Municipal Conservatory, where four members of the jury (Lagarde, Akagi, Bagaría, and Chernychko) performed. There will also be the traditional Maria Canals Porta Cua, with pianos in public spaces in Barcelona (including the lobby of the Diagonal metro station) and Santa Coloma de Gramenet.