Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) Announces 19th Piano Competition April 26 – May 14, 2021

Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) Announces 19^th Piano Competition April 26 – May 14, 2021

Shifting to an online format, twenty-six semifinalists representing eleven countries will record their competition submissions in fifteen concert halls across the globe. All performances will be available for streaming free and on-demand.

Zarin Mehta returns to lead an international jury of nine spread out over three continents.

The first prize winner will take home over $180,000 in winnings, including a concerto performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and a solo album recording on the Steinway & Sons label

MONTRÉAL, QC – April 8, 2021 – From April 26 – May 14, the Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) will hold its triennial piano edition in a virtual format after a one-year postponement due to COVID-19.  A preliminary jury has selected from among 229 candidates twenty-six semifinalists aged 21-30 who represent 11 different countries including Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, the United States and Uzbekistan to compete for over $230,000 in prizes and awards. In addition to a grand prize of $30,000 from the city of Montréal and the $50,000 Joseph Rouleau Career Development Grant offered by the Azrieli Foundation, the first prize winner will also be offered a concert tour in three North American cities (sponsored by Sarah Beauchamp), an artist residency at Canada’s Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, a concerto performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in an upcoming season and a solo album recording on the Steinway & Sons label with a launch event at Steinway Hall in New York City.

All stages of the competition will be available for free, on-demand listening on CMIM’s website, https://www.concoursmontreal.ca/en/.  Along with the panel of nine international judges overseen by Zarin Mehta including Arnaldo Cohen (United States), Martin Engstroem (Sweden), Till Fellner (Austria), Mari Kodama (Japan), Hélène Mercier (Canada), Costa Pilavachi (Canada), Charles Richard-Hamelin (Canada), Rena Shereshevskaya (Russia) and Susan Wadsworth (United States), the public is invited to vote for the recipient of the $5,000 ICI Musique People’s Choice Award.

To maintain integrity and consistency among recordings, CMIM has secured fifteen concert halls around the world in which the artists will perform on a Steinway & Sons instrument. Recording crews will abide by the same set of rules regarding microphone and camera placement, and each recital will be recorded in one take. 

The twenty-six 45-minute semifinal recitals will be webcast for the public over nine sessions (three recitals per session) premiering April 26-29 at 10am and 2pm ET and April 30 at 10am ET and streamed on-demand thereafter. Among their other selections, performers must choose at least one work by J.S. Bach and three of Twenty-four Preludes by Juno Award-winning Canadian composer John Burge. The twenty-six semifinalists competing are:

More information on the 2021 competitors and program information can be found HERE.

Eight finalists will be announced on Friday, April 30 at 2pm ET. Finalists chosen will return to perform a 60-minute recital streamed over four sessions premiering May 10-13 at 10am ET. The announcement of the final results and closing ceremony will occur on Friday, May 14^th at 10am ET.

About Concours Musical International de Montréal

Founded by late internationally renowned bass Joseph Rouleau (1929-2019) and the late philanthropist André Bourbeau (1936-2018), the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is an annual event that draws over 6,000 spectators to concert halls and reaches even more listeners via radio and webcasts. The CMIM is one of the only international competitions in North America to be held annually and to present three disciplines (voice, violin, piano) in a three-year rotation. Since its first edition dedicated to voice in 2002, more than 3,500 hopefuls have entered the Competition and close to 500 have performed in Montreal.

Following a preliminary step (based on video recordings), the CMIM invites 24 of the most talented young musicians in the world to compete in Montreal. The Competition consists of three rounds: First, semifinal, and final. Recital rounds are held at Salle Bourgie while concert rounds with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal are held at Maison symphonique. The candidates go through a unique experience by taking part in the CMIM: they receive beneficial advice from an international jury made up of leading figures on the music scene, perform with an orchestra of the caliber of the OSM, attend master classes, and share over $100,000 in prizes and grants. The CMIM is both an invitation for young musicians to experience an incomparable adventure in Montreal and for everyone wishing to discover new music and talent over ten days of recitals, concerts and special activities.

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