Piano Concerto Festival

The Piano Concerto Festival

3rd Edition

In Collaboration With The Orquestra Do Algarve

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED!

3 - 9 July, 2023

Faro, Portugal

Our 2023 Events

Our Mission

Perform With A Symphony Orchestra

3 July 2023

9 July 2023

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'When I originally founded this festival, it was to give young pianists a rare opportunity to play with an orchestra. I mean, how often in a piano competition, for example, do you see a young, talented soloist, make it all the way to the final stage, only to deliver an unprepared final concerto performance?' - Congyu Wang, Steinway Artist

In light of the founder's original motivation, The Piano Concerto Festival provides pianists of all levels and backgrounds the opportunity to rehearse and perform with a high quality professional symphony orchestra.

For our 3rd edition, we look forward to bringing our festival participants to a stunning new location in Faro, on the southern coast of Portugal. We will offer each participant one-to-one masterclasses with professors from our renowned faculty, and we also offer the possibility of shooting a professional video recording of their concerto performance.

A number of our participants may be selected (on merit) to perform their concerto of choice in our closing Gala Concert. There is also the possibility that participants may be offered various performance engagements, at the discretion of our faculty.

Information

General Information

The Piano Concerto Festival, 3rd edition, will take place in Faro, Portugal, from July 3rd to July 9th, 2023.

In some cases, foreign participants may need visas. Applicants should consult the nearest Portuguese Embassy or Consulate for advice. The Piano Concerto Festival team is happy to provide invitation letters for the purpose of visa applications.

All participants will be granted minimum two hours practice per day. Outside the allotted schedule, participants are free to practise for extra time if they find available practice rooms.

All participation in the course will be confirmed with a festival diploma. This will be provided in the form of a digital certificate, but a physical copy can be obtained upon request.

Important Dates

November 1st, 2022 - Applications Open

January 1st, 2023 - Early Application Deadline

May 1st, 2023 - Application Deadline

May 14th, 2023 - Notification of Acceptance or Non-Acceptance

July 2nd, 2023 - Arrival of Participants in Faro

July 3rd, 2023 - Festival Begins

July 8th, 2023 - Festival Gala Concert

Application Procedures

There is no prescribed age limit, but applications must be completed through the online system.

All applications are due by 23:59 BST, on Monday, May 1st, 2023. Early applications are due by 23:59 GMT, on Sunday, January 1st, 2023.

Applicants will submit a processing fee of €90, or €60 if the application is completed before January 1st, 2023, payable through the online application system. Further payments will only be made upon notification of acceptance.

All active participants will receive at minimum 2 masterclasses during the festival. Applicants must, on the application form, indicate their first and second choice teachers from the faculty that they wish to have masterclasses with. All active participants will receive at least one masterclass from either their first or second choice professor.

We ask that you submit a link (i.e. YouTube, Dropbox, etc.) to a video recording of any length, whether solo or collaborative, during the application process. This recording will be used for selection purposes, and will also determine which professors you will be assigned if your application is successful. The recording does not need to be in one continuous take, and may consist of multiple recordings edited into a longer video, but there may not be any editing within individual pieces or movements.

Applicants may choose one concerto from the repertoire list for performance with orchestra. This choice may be changed up until 23:59 BST, on Thursday, June 1st, 2023. Feel free to contact the team at info@pianoconcertofestival.com for any changes.

An acknowledgement will be sent to each applicant upon receipt of the completed application form and registration fee. Applicants will not be able to submit unless all required fields are completed.

All applicants will be notified by May 14th, 2023, as to whether or not their application has been accepted.

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Fees

All payments can be made through our online system. You will be guided to offers that are applicable to you.

Application Fee

The application fee stands at €90. However, if an early application is completed before January 1st, 2023, the application fee will be reduced to €60.

If you are unsure about applying still, then feel free to look through some additional information on our application page here.

Active Participants

If your application is successful, you will be required to confirm your participation in The Piano Concerto Festival. At this point, you will be required to pay the baseline fees for your participation.

As an active participant, you are guaranteed to receive a minimum of 2 masterclasses, including at least one class with either your first or second choice professor. You will also get the opportunity to perform your chosen concerto in its entirety with our partner orchestra - The Orquestra Do Algarve.

The price of this is €797.

Orchestral Pro

For participants that would like to get the most out of our event, we also offer an upgraded festival package.

On top of the active participant privileges granted to all our students, you can receive an additional 50 minutes of rehearsal time with our partner orchestra (to be scheduled before your performance). We'll even throw in a complimentary video, shot professionally for your own personal use!

The price of this is €1197, on top of the baseline course fees.

Festival Classic

For those that are either unsuccessful in their applications, or simply just want to come see how we operate before committing as a full participant, we've created a more traditional package to allow you to come and experience the festival anyway!

You'd be granted full access to all the events throughout the course of the festival, and on top of that, you'd receive 2 masterclasses with members of our faculty!

The price of this is just €497. This portion of the festival will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. You can sign up for this by clicking here and completing the application form.

In the unlikely event that the studio ends up completely full, refunds will be issued and priority will be granted for future editions of The Piano Concerto Festival.

Festival Classic Plus

This option is for students applying for solo masterclasses only.

You would receive 4 masterclasses with members of our faculty, as well as a festival-wide access pass to experience all events during the festival's duration.

The price of this is just €797. This portion of the festival will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. You can sign up for this by clicking here and completing the application form.

As with the standard Festival Classic, in the unlikely event that the studio ends up completely full, refunds will be issued and priority will be granted for future editions of The Piano Concerto Festival.

Accommodation

Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation. However, The Piano Concerto Festival team will be offering recommendations in due course.

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Repertoire

Camille Saint-Saëns:
Piano Concerto no. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22

Piano Concerto no. 5 in F Major, Op. 103

Maurice Ravel:

Piano Concerto For The Left Hand in D Major M. 82

Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83

George Gershwin:

Piano Concerto in F Major

Rhapsody in Blue

Béla Bartók:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in E Minor, Sz. 83, BB 91

Piano Concerto no. 2 in G Major, Sz. 95, BB 101

Piano Concerto no. 3 in E Major, Sz. 119, BB 127

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23

Piano Concerto no. 2 in G Major, Op. 44

Alexander Scriabin:

Piano Concerto in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 20

Sergei Rachmaninoff:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 1

Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Piano Concerto no. 4 in G minor, Op. 40

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Sergei Prokofiev:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in D-Flat major, Op. 10

Piano Concerto no. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

Piano Concerto no. 3 in C major, Op. 26

Piano Concerto no. 4 For The Left Hand in B-Flat Major, Op. 53

Piano Concerto no. 5 in G Major, Op. 55

Dmitri Shostakovich:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35

Piano Concerto no. 2 in F Major, Op. 102

Johann Sebastian Bach:
Piano Concerto no. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052

Joseph Haydn:

Piano Concerto no. 11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII: 11

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Piano Concerto no. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271

Piano Concerto no. 11 in F Major, K. 413

Piano Concerto no. 12 in A Major, K. 414

Piano Concerto no. 13 in C Major, K. 415

Piano Concerto no. 14 in E-Flat Major, K. 449

Piano Concerto no. 15 in B-Flat Major, K. 450

Piano Concerto no. 16 in D Major, K. 451

Piano Concerto no. 17 in G Major, K. 453

Piano Concerto no. 18 in B-Flat Major, K. 456

Piano Concerto no. 19 in F Major, K. 459

Piano Concerto no. 20 in D Minor, K. 466

Piano Concerto no. 21 in C Major, K. 467

Piano Concerto no. 22 in E-Flat Major, K. 482

Piano Concerto no. 23 in A Major, K. 488

Piano Concerto no. 24 in C Minor, K. 491

Piano Concerto no. 25 in C Major, K. 503

Piano Concerto no. 26 in D Major, K. 537

Piano Concerto no. 27 in B-Flat Major, K. 595

Ludwig van Beethoven:

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major Op. 58

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major Op. 73

Felix Mendelssohn:

Piano Concerto no. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25

Piano Concerto no. 2 in D Minor, Op. 40

Frédéric Chopin:
Piano Concerto no. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11
Piano Concerto no. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21

Robert Schumann:

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54

Franz Liszt:
Piano Concerto no. 1 in E-Flat Major, S. 124
Piano Concerto no. 2 in A Major, S. 125

Totentanz, S. 126

Edvard Grieg:
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16

If you wish to perform a concerto not prescribed on the repertoire list, feel free to contact us at info@pianoconcertofestival.com to discuss other possibilities before May, 2023.

Apply Now!

Faculty

We at The Piano Concerto Festival are proud to be gathering a faculty of inspirational teachers from all over the world.

Christopher Elton

Christopher's international recognition has come as a result of the many successes of his students at the Royal Academy of Music. Many have won international awards, including top prizes at prestigious competitions such as Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky, Leeds, Geneva, Santander, Geza Anda, Rio, Munich ARD, YPF European Grand Prix, Dublin, Jaen, Leipzig Bach, New Orleans, Horowitz, London, Dudley and Ettlingen International Piano Competitions. Students have also been successful in the prestigious Young Concert Artists award in New York, as well as in the London Young Concert Artists Trust.

Many of his students, such as Freddy Kempf, Benjamin Grosvenor, Anna Geniushene, Ashley Wass and Yevgeny Sudbin are now successful recording artists with major contracts.

While his priority is to his work at the Royal Academy of Music, Christopher has also been much in demand overseas both as a teacher and as a jury member for international competitions such as Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein and Leeds amongst many others. Within the last few years he has given masterclasses in the USA, China, Japan, Israel, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Vietnam, many of them for important conservatories or universities.

Born in Edinburgh, Christopher received most of his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music, where he achieved the unusual distinction of gaining the Academy’s highest performing award - the DipRAM - on both piano and cello. He was elected a Fellow in 1983, and later in 2002, he received the title of Professor of the University of London.

Congyu Wang

Amongst being the founder and artistic director of the Piano Island Festival and the International Chopin Competition in South Africa, Steinway Artist Congyu Wang is also the founder of The Piano Concerto Festival, of which he ran two editions before deciding to expand his team due to the demands of his growing concert schedule. He is also an ambassador for several charitable foundations - Association des Jeunes Musiciens (Young musicians), Association Koinonia (International Refugees) and the Grace International Foundation Liverpool (Youth Development).

Born in Singapore, Congyu Wang started playing the piano at the age of 3 under the tutelage of Sylvia Ng. He was selected for a scholarship that enabled him to attend the prestigious Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where he studied with renowned French pianists Jean-Marc Luisada and Odile Catelin-Delangle. He later enrolled in the Schola Cantorum (Paris) to continue his studies with Gabriel Tacchino (who had been Francis Poulenc’s only student).

Since graduating from his further education, Congyu has made appearances in over 800 recitals across Europe and Asia. He has earned a reputation for delivering stunning performances of extremely demanding works and boasts a vast repertoire including 30 piano concertos, along with the complete solo piano oeuvre of Chopin and Poulenc.

Highlights of some of his performances include festival appearances at Château de la Verrerie (France), Ernen Music Festival (Switzerland), the Geza Anda Piano Festival Masterclasses (Berlin), the International Isang Yun Academy (Paris), International Hammer Klavier Piano Series (Barcelona), International Piano Festival (Amarante), Festival Langtang (Reunion Island) and Chopin Fest (Belgrade). Congyu Wang has performed for many important guests internationally, including the Prince of Brunei, the Prime Minister of Singapore, and also the Ambassadors of France, Singapore, China and Norway.

Vasco Dantas

Portuguese pianist Vasco Dantas obtained his Bachelor's Degree with 1st Class Honours at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied piano performance with Dmitri Alexeev and Niel Immelman, as well as conducting with Peter Stark and Natalia Luis-Bassa. He concluded his Master's Degree in Performance with highest honours under the guidance of Heribert Koch, at the University of Münster.

He joins The Piano Concerto Festival as co-artistic director this year.

A previous 1st Prize Winner of the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition in Porto, Vasco made his New York Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2019. His concert schedule has taken him all over the world, and he has featured at venues such as the Grand Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Hong Kong's City Hall, Porto's Casa de Música and the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées amongst others.

As a faculty member of The Piano Concerto Festival, Vasco has significant experience working with orchestra, and has previously collaborated with ensembles such as the Orquestra Clássica da Madeira, Orquestra Clássica do Centro, Orquestra Do Algarve, Orquestra Festival de Música Júnior, Filarmónica Portuguesa, Filarmónica das Beiras, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa, Orquestra do Norte, Orquestra Promenade, Sinfónica de Cascais, and Sinfónica Portuguesa, amongst others.

Vasco is also the co-artistic director of the Algarve Music Series, one of the primary collaborative partners of The Piano Concerto Festival.

Rixiang Huang

Described "in a word, [as] superb,” by the New York Concert Review, pianist Rixiang Huang has inspired glowing acclaim from audiences and critics alike for his superb artistry and passionate, charismatic performances across four continents.

Boasting an impressive array of prizes, including laureate titles of the Hastings, Dallas, New York International Artists, La Palma d'Oro, and WPTA International Piano Competitions amongst others, Huang has rapidly established for himself an international reputation.

Highlights of Huang's 2022-23 season include a five-city solo recital tour in China; a solo recital at the University of Southern California; a solo recital at the UWG School of the Arts in Georgia; and a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 Performance with the USC Thornton Orchestra. In 2022, Huang joined the artist faculties of the Montecito Music Festival in California; the Tarnow International Music Festival in Poland; the Concordia University Irvine Summer Chamber Music Camp; and also the Artcial International Music Festival in San Francisco.

An immersive and versatile soloist, Huang has performed extensively all over the world in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York; Alice Tully Hall at the New York Lincoln Center; Universität Mozarteum – Solitär in Salzburg; Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander; ACT Concert Hall in Hamamatsu; National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing; and also the Beijing Concert Hall. His performances have been broadcast by WQXR-FM, KUSC, KDFC, Classic FM, Cleveland WCLV 104.9, Sarasota WSMR 89.1 & 103.9, and Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española. Mr. Huang is currently represented by Get Classical Music Management.

Huang is the founder and CEO of the Empire Music Academy in California, as well as also the founder and artistic director of the Pacific Stars International Piano Competition & Festival.

Daniel Gašparović

Daniel Gašparović earned his bachelor's and master's degrees (in piano performance) at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb. He specialized his skills at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Pécs (Hungary) under guidance of pianist Csaba Kiraly. He is the winner of state, international and dean prizes, and was a scholar of the City of Zagreb.

Gašparović is the president of the World Piano Teachers Association, Croatia and artistic director of the Kašman Festival in Mali Lošinj.

Gašparović is actively engaged in organisational and productive work, and he collaborated on joint projects with organisations such as the Concert Hall Vatroslav Lisinski, HRT, the Croatian Society of Musicians, the City of Zagreb, and the Austrian Cultural Forum, as well as numerous embassies and other partners. He is a piano professor at the SUDIGO in Zabok and the artistic director of Christoforium, as well as the CEO of Cristoforium Art Artist Management, which organises top class concert series in Croatia and abroad, on top of a host of other important cultural and educational content.

Owing to his professional successes, Gašparović is often invited to participate on the juries of international competitions. He has appeared on the juries of Santa Cecillia International Piano Competition (Porto), WPTA International Piano Competition, Spain (Madrid), Oskar Rieding International Piano Competition (Celje), New Generation International Piano Competition & Festival (Moscow), and Grand Piano in Palace Festival & International Piano Competition (St. Petersburg) amongst many others. He also sits on the board of the national competition in Croatia.

Together with his father, he is the owner of the largest and most valuable private collection of historical pianos in the South – Eastern region of Europe - the Gašparović’s Piano Collection.

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Partners and Sponors

We at The Piano Concerto Festival always strive for higher ideals. And so for our 3rd edition, we have formed a number of new partnerships to improve the quality of our overall event experience.

Câmara Municipal de Faro

The Piano Concerto Festival is proudly supported by the Faro city council.

The Câmara Municipal de Faro is committed to providing its local population with access to the arts. As a governing organisation, they hold the strong belief that culture of all sorts is essential to the development of unique identities within their community.

Teatro das Figuras

The Teatro das Figuras presents itself as a venue that is keen on building a continuous and creative relationship with its community, contributing to the cultural development of the city of Faro, the Algarve region and the country.

Above all else, it is a visually appeasing, modern theatre, with superb acoustics - perfect for piano concertos!

Orquestra Do Algarve

The Orquestra Do Algarve is dedicated to offering performances of high artistic quality to the regions of Algarve, Alentejo and the Setubal peninsula, as well as to the Spanish region of Andalusia.

The ensemble's standard is guaranteed through its process of selecting musicians through international public auditions, which has also resulted in bringing together a diverse group consisting of over 14 different nationalities.

Algarve Music Series

The Algarve Music Series has offered performance opportunities for any festival participants of their own choosing.

Based in the Algarve region of Portugal, the Algarve Music Series is entering into its 8th edition in 2023. Whilst having a primary focus on chamber music, past concerts have also featured solo recitals and interdisciplinary collaborations.

G. Henle Verlag

Since being founded in 1948, G. Henle Verlag has firmly established itself as the world's premier authority regarding publications of classical music.

Henle have very generously offered to sponsor a special prize for one (or more) of the participants of our 3rd edition.

Club Farense

Club Farense is a unique, members only club situated in the heart of Faro.

Fortunately, for music lovers around Faro, Club Farense have offered to host a number of events during our 2023 edition.

Carlos Alonso Douro Wine

Founded in the 1980s, Carlos Alonso Douro Wine Company produces some of the best wine around - right from the heart of the Douro Valley in Portugal.

As an organsiation, Carlos Alonso puts a great deal of emphasis upon nurturing personal relationships with local farmers, suppliers, and more recently - us!