The Competition will be held in Brisbane from 11 August to 24 August 2013.

There will be three rounds.  There will be up to 20 competitors in Round 1 which will consist of two recital performances as follows:

• Round 1 Stage A - to a total of 20 minutes
• Round 1 Stage B - 25-35 minutes.

There will be up to ten competitors in Round 2 which will be a 40 to 50 minute recital of own choice repertoire. This recital must include a major work of at least 15 minutes duration and an Australian work. 

There will be up to four competitors in Round 3, the final round, which will take place on 24 August 2013.

Finalists will play a concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in the Conservatorium Theatre at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, South Bank. All prize winners will be announced and their prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of Round 3. 

The Official Ballot Draw for the order of performance throughout the Competition will take place on 11 August 2013. This order will not be altered except at the discretion of the Jury in case of illness or other special circumstances.

The cash prizes (in Australian dollars) will be:

• First Prize $20,000
  
• Second Prize $10,000 
• Third Prize $5,000 
• Fourth Prize $3,000 
• People's Choice Prize $5,000
• Encouragement Award $1,000
• Best Recital in Round Two $1,000
• Best Performance of a Prelude and Fugue $1,000
• Best Performance of a Virtuoso Study $1,000
• Best Performance of a Classical Sonata $1,000
• Best Performance of an Australian Work $1,000
• Best Performance of a Russian Work $1000
• Best Performance of a Work by Liszt $1000
• Enid Lane Memorial Prize for Mozart $1,000
• Pnina Salzman Memorial Prize for Chopin $1000

Performance prizes include:

• Recording package with Master Performers to the value of $10 000
• Opening recital at the 2011 Tyalgum Annual Festival of Classical Music
• A Steinway engagement in Brisbane or Sydney arranged by Theme & Variations
• A solo recital at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
• A performance opportunity with the Quensland Youth Orchestra

Additional prizes may be offered. Final details will be published before the Competition commences. The Jury reserves the right not to award any prize. The prizes may be shared.

The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition is open to pianists who, on 24th August 2013, will be no younger than 16 and no older than 30 (ie: you cannot have had your 30th birthday) and who are permanent residents or citizens of Australia or New Zealand; or are from another nation and have been studying in Australia or New Zealand for one year as at 11th August 2013.

Previous first prize winners are not eligible to enter.

Auditions will take place in Australia and New Zealand, most likely in May and early June 2013. Applicants will be advised by email of the date and location of auditions. Applicants will be expected to prepare and play from memory:

• A virtuoso study from Round 1, Stage A; and
• A first movement of a classical sonata from Round 1 Stage B; and
• A piece from the list specified for Round 1, Stage B; and
• A major work from Round 2; and
• The first movement of the concerto the contestant has nominated to play in Round 3.

Applicants will be responsible for providing their own accompanists and the costs of travelling to and from auditions and for associated living expenses.  Details will be given to all applicants when they are advised of their audition.

Applicants who are overseas at this time must forward a high quality DVD of their performance of the above works, to arrive in Brisbane on or before Friday 17 May 2013.

The recording must be certified and no editing is permitted.

All rounds must be played from memory and works must be chosen as specified in the Competition Repertoire provided below. A competitor cannot play a work more than once during the Competition. All sonatas must be performed in their entirety. Any twentieth century works chosen must not be for prepared piano. The jury reserves the right to stop contestants who run over time.

Changes to nominated repertoire may be made up to 12 July 2013 and then only with the written permission of the competition.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Round 1 Stage A - Program of 20 minutes
Any prelude and fugue of JS Bach or Shostakovich and any virtuoso study of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff or Scriabin and one or more pieces of your own choice.  No incomplete work may be performed.

Round 1 Stage B - Program of between 25 and 35 minutes
Any sonata by Mozart, Haydn or Clementi and one or more of the following -

Chopin

• Ballades (Op 23, 38, 47, 52)
• Scherzi (Op 20, 31, 39, 54)
• Fantaisie (Op 49)
• Barcarolle (Op 60)
• Polonaise No 7 (Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op 61)
• Andante Spinato and Grand Polonaise (Op 22)

• Abegg Variations ( Op 1)
• Symphonic Etudes (Op 13)
• Toccata (Op 7)

• Variations on a theme of Paganini (Op 35) Bk1 or Bk2
• Variations on an original theme (Op 21, No 1)
• Variations on a theme of Schumann (Op 9)

• Dumka: Russian rustic scene (Op 59)
• Theme and Variations in F Major from Six Morceaux (Op 19)

• Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 or No 6 or No 10 or No 11 or No 12 or No 15
• Rhapsodie Espagnole
• Années de pèlerinage 1 No 6 (Vallee d’Obermann)
• Années de pèlerinage 2 No 7 (Apres une Lecture du Dante-Fantasia quasi sonata)
• Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses No 7 (Funérailles)
• Ballade No 2 (b)
• Mephisto Waltz No 1

• Variations Serieuses Op 54
• Fantasy Opus 28

• Prélude, chorale, et fugue

Round 2 - A program of between 40 and 50 minutes
This round must feature a musically balanced programme that includes a major work of at least 15 minutes duration and an Australian work. 

Round 3 - Any one of the following concertos -

Bartók - Concerto No 3
Beethoven - No 1, Op 15 or No 2, Op 19 or No 3, Op 37 or No 4, Op 58 or No 5, Op 73 
Chopin - No1, Op 11 or No 2, Op 21
Grieg - Op 16
Liszt - No 1 or No 2
Mozart - K466 or K488 or K467 or K595 or K453 or K503 or K537
Prokofiev - No 3, Op 26
Rachmaninoff - No 2, Op 18, No 3, Op 30 or Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini, Op 43
Ravel - Concerto in G Major
Saint-Saëns - No 2, Op 22
Schumann - Op 54
Tchaikovsky - No 1, Op 23

Competitors must register in person in Brisbane on 11th August, 2013.

However, if a competitor is late due to unavoidable circumstances, the Competition may allow such latecomers to enter the Competition. Competitors will register at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University where they will receive rehearsal and performance timetables.

Competitors will be responsible for payment for their travel to and from Brisbane. 

The Competition administrators will arrange billeting in Brisbane for the duration of each competitor's involvement in the Competition at no cost to competitors.

Billeting is not offered to competitors residing in Brisbane. 

All competitors will be contracted exclusively to the Competition. The Competition has the right, without payment of fees, to:
• televise, film, video, tape, broadcast, webcast or photograph all rounds of the competition.
• produce and distribute, without limit, recordings of all rounds of the Competition, whether in whole or in part;
• produce documentary or feature films.

All approaches to and from the media as well as sponsors must be made through and with the approval of the Competition. Competitors will be required to be available for media calls arranged by the Competition.

The online application will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. There are five sections to the application:

• Part 1: Personal Details
• Part 2: Contact and Education Details
• Part 3: Repertoire
• Part 4: Biography, Identification and Publicity Materials
• Part 5: Declarations and Payment

To complete this online application, you will need to have the following information and files ready:

• All repertoire details
• Biography (250 words max.) and Curriculum Vitae (3 A4 pages max.) with details of training and qualifications, competitions entered and awards received, etc.
• One high resolution headshot image, in either TIF or JPG format (4MB max.) suitable for use in publicity

Please note that you will not be able to complete the online application form without providing these files.

You are also required to submit the following items of supporting documentation:

• Certified copy of birth certificate, passport or another legal document stating the applicant's date of birth and nationality
• Signed letter from your present or recent teacher, or a musician of national standing, recommending your participation in the Competition

• If you are a non-Australian resident: A copy of an Academic transcript indicating dates and place of study

If these files are not submitted with your online application, you will be required to submit hard copies by post within seven (7) days. 

At the end of the application process, you will be able to pay the application fee of $150 by direct deposit via the internet, cheque or money order. 

Direct deposits over the internet can be made into the following account.  (You must include your name in the description/reference box so that your deposit can be verified.)

BSB - 064000    ACC - 10482659    The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition

Cheques and money orders for AUD$150 should be made payable to 'The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition' and posted to the following address not more than seven (7) days after your online application is submitted.

     The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition
     PO Box 1916
     Toowong DC 4066 
     QUEENSLAND
     AUSTRALIA

If you require assistance completing the application form, please contact the Administrator of the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .