The Honens International Piano Competition is a triennial
classical piano competition held in
Calgary,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
that awards prizes in
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
performance. In addition to monetary awards, the top prize winner receives access to a career development program that includes concert engagements, a recording, management, and a
Banff Centre
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
residency. It is the world's wealthiest piano competition.
Founding
In 1991, Esther Honens, a Canadian philanthropist, entrepreneur, and amateur pianist, created a $5 million endowment to host an international piano competition in her hometown of Calgary. She died shortly following the first competition in 1992.
Competition format
Fifty quarterfinalists are chosen from a pool of applicants. Ten of these are chosen as semifinalists at rounds held in New York and Germany. These are then narrowed down to three finalists who complete for a monetary awards and a three-year career development program that includes artist management, international orchestral performances, production of professional recordings, and mentorship opportunities.
During the competition, contestants collaborate in performances with other musicians in chamber and vocal settings and concerto performances, in addition to playing self-programmed solo recitals, and participate in individual filmed interviews. Juries include representatives of music management and the recording industry as well as active concert pianists.
Competitors are encouraged to showcase themselves and their own artistry.
The competition has been a member of the
World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classi ...
since 1998. Steinway & Sons is the official sponsor of the competition.
Festival
Since 2014 the Competition has expanded to include a festival taking place in a variety of indoor and outdoor Calgary venues each year. The Honens Festival and Piano Competition earned a White Hat of the Year award from Tourism Calgary in 2015.
Laureates
The Honens International Piano Competition named between three and five Laureates up to and including its 2009 competition. Starting in 2012, it switched to a sole Prize Laureate system.
1992
*
Yi Wu
Colonel Prince Yi U (15 November 1912 – 7 August 1945) was a member of the imperial family of Korea as a prince, the 4th head of Unhyeon Palace, and a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was killed ...
, Argentina/China
*
Krzysztof Jablonski, Poland
*
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (born 17 October 1962) is a French classical pianist.
Education
Bavouzet was born in Lannion, France and grew up in Metz. He started his music studies there, encountering successful composers including Iannis Xenakis, Oliv ...
, France
*
Sergei Babayan
Sergei Babayan ( hy, Սերգեյ Բաբայան; born 1 January 1961) is an Armenian-American pianist. Described by ''Le Devoir'' as a "genius", Babayan won many international competitions, including the Robert Casadesus International Piano Comp ...
, Armenia
*
Dmitry Nesterov, Russia
1996
*
Maxim Philippov, Russia
*
Albert Tiu
Albert Tiu (born March 20, 1969) is a classical pianist from the Philippines.
Biography
Born in 1969 in Cebu, Albert first learned to play the piano at the age of five. At the age of eleven, he was accepted at the Philippine High School for the A ...
, Philippines
*
Eugene Watanabe, United States
2000
*
Katherine Chi
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, Canada
*
Marko Martin, Estonia
*
Alessandra Maria Ammara
Alessandra is a female given name of Italian origin, meaning ''defender of men''. It is the Italian form of the female given name Alexandra and the female form of the male given name Alessandro.
Alessandra may refer to:
* Alessandra Ambrosio (bo ...
, Italy
2003
*
Xiang Zou Xiang or Hsiang may refer to:
* Xiang (place), the site of Hong Xiuquan's destruction of a Chinese idol early in the Taiping Rebellion
* Xiang (surname), three unrelated surnames: Chinese: 項 and Chinese: 向 (both ''Xiàng'') and Chinese: 相 (' ...
, China
*
Winston Choi
Winston may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Winston Glacier
Australia
* Winston, Queensland, a suburb of the City of Mount Isa
United Kingdom
* Winston, County Durham, England, a village
* Winston, Suffolk, England, a village and civil pari ...
, Canada
*
Roberto Plano
Roberto Plano (born 1 August 1978 in Varese) is an Italian pianist, winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition (2001) and laureate at numerous international competitions such as the Sendai International Music Competition, the Honens ...
, Italy
2006
*
Minsoo Sohn, South Korea
*
Hinrich Alpers Hinrich is both a masculine given name and a surname, a variant of Heinrich, the German form of Henry. People with the name include:
Given name:
* Hinrich Braren (1751–1826), Danish sailor and writer
*Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf (1893–1961), German ...
, Germany
*
Hong Xu Hong may refer to:
Places
*Høng, a town in Denmark
*Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China
*Hong, Nigeria
*Hong River in China and Vietnam
*Lake Hong in China
Surnames
*Hong (Chinese name)
*Hong (Korean name)
Organiz ...
, China
2009
*
Georgy Tchaidze Georgy may refer to:
*Georgy (given name)
*Diminituve for Georgina
*Georgy, the protagonist in '' Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song
* ''Georgy'' (musical), a musical from the novel ''Georgy Girl''
See also
*Georgi (disambiguation)
*Georgiy Georgy ...
, Russia
*
Evgeny Starodubtsev, Russia
*
Gilles Vonsattel
The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a traditio ...
, Switzerland
2012
*
Pavel Kolesnikov, Russia
2015
* Luca Buratto, Italy
2018
* Nicolas Namoradze, Georgia
2021
* The 2021 Honens International Piano Competition was postponed until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022
* Illia Ovcharenko, Ukraine
References
{{Reflist
External links
Honens official competition website
Piano competitions