Piano Competition 2026

Musical Association

“NOTE SUL MARE ”

Announces
13th INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION
“ISCHIA”

Regulations – ISCHIA International Piano Competition

PIANO PERFORMANCE ( SECTION III)

Par. 1 The competition is open to young italian or foreign musicians.

Par. 2 The main goal of the competition is to promote musical culture, encouraging youth to study music.

Par. 3 Structure and Eligibility

The competition consists of two consecutive phases:

Video Preselection Round - Approximately 20 pianists will be selected for the live competition.
Live Competition, on July 10 and 11, 2026, will take place in “ VILLA ARBUSTO ” , in Via Angelo Rizzoli in the municipality of LACCO AMENO Ischia Island , Naples, Italy.

The competition is open to pianists of any nationality who are 35 years old or younger as of May 25 , 2026.
All repertoire must be performed from memory.

Par. 4 Repertoire

Video Preselection

(Submission deadline: May 25th , 2026 )

Video Preselection Round

Each competitor must submit a video with a program lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, which must include:
a single Étude, chosen from the works of one of the following composers:
F. Chopin, F. Liszt, A. Scriabin, S. Rachmaninov, S. Prokofiev, C. Debussy, or G. Ligeti. It will be to play more etudes of course .
The remainder of the program is free.

Live First Round

(10th July 2026 – Maximum 20 pianists will be selected for the Live First Round)
Each competitor must present a free-choice program lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, which must include:

a single Étude, chosen from the works of one of the following composers:
F. Chopin, F. Liszt, A. Scriabin, S. Rachmaninov, S. Prokofiev, C. Debussy, or G. Ligeti.

Only one Étude is required.
More etudes of course are possible. The remainder of the program is free,

Repeating pieces performed in the Video Preselection Round is allowed.

Live Second Round – Final – July 11th, 2026

(Max. 6 finalists)

Each finalist must present a free-choice program, lasting 30 to 35 minutes.

Free choice program

Works already performed in the Video Preselection may be repeated,
but not those performed in the Live First Round.

Video Recording Requirements

Performance Format

The candidate must upload the video to a personal YouTube channel (or to a parent's or reference person's YouTube channel) by setting the visibility to "Public" or "Unlisted" and indicating in the title: ISCHIA INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2026 - Name and Surname - Section III Piano Performance
Each piece (or movement / set of variations) must be recorded in one continuous take — no cuts.
Different pieces may be recorded separately. All recordings can be combined into one final video.
Submit preferably one single link containing the complete video.

Fixed camera angle (zooming permitted)
Face and hands must always be clearly visible

Editing

No audio or video editing is permitted during the performance
Videos that appear edited may be disqualified

Works

Variations: must be recorded in one take
Sonatas or multi-movement works: preferably one video, but movements may be submitted separately if necessary

Recording Date

Must be recorded in 2025 or 2026
Videos made before 2025 are not eligible

Recording Environment

Professional studio not required – home recordings are accepted

By submitting a video, you authorize the competition to share it with the jury and publish it on competition channels

Par. 5

Compatibility with Ischia International Piano Competition ( Section 1 and Section 2) and Online Competitions.

Applying to the Piano Performance ( Section III) Ischia Piano Competition does not exclude participation in:

Ischia International Piano Competition Section 1 and Section 2 (if eligible by age)
Ischia International Piano Online Competition
Pianists may apply to multiple competitions.

Par. 6 The association may apply some changes to this announcement in the future and possibly suppress a category, if

competitors are not enough. In that case, the attendance fee will be refunded. Furthermore, the association will not be responsible for any damages or losses due to competitors, during all the competition.

Par. 7 Competitors will be allowed to test the piano following a timetable provided by the association.

Par. 8 Before any examination, competitors will be asked by the examination board to show the following documents:

1) ID card 2) Two copies of the sheet music program. Simplified piano pieces are not allowed.

Par. 10 Competitors will be examined starting from letter will be drawn 8 days before the

opening of the competition, in order to ease the staying of the competitors.

Par. 12 Competitors will be able to test the piano checking a timetable that will be available on the website

www.ischiapianocompetition.com a few days before the beginning of the competition.

Competitors are kindly invited to inform themselves about .

Par. 13 Results will be published at the end of the examinations for each category.

Par. 14 Competitors who have been taking lessons in the last two years from members of the examination board

(or are related to any of them) are not allowed to take part in the competition. In the application form is

strictly necessary to put the teacher’s name. The full list of the examination board will be available on the

website www.ischiapianocompetition.com

Par.15 The examination board will be formed by musicians, teachers and renowned musical personalities.

Par.16 The examination board may stop players, if the max. time is expired.

Par.17 The board’s decisions are final and irrevocable. The examination board may also decide not to give any prize due

to a low-level general performance of the candidates.

Par. 18 The award ceremony for the First, Second , Third and Fourth winners will be held at the end of the examination of

each category. Absolute First Prize Winners of each category will take part in the Major Award Ceremony that

will be held on June 1st 2025 at “ VILLA ARBUSTO ”, in via Angelo Rizzoli – Lacco Ameno , Ischia .

Absolute First Prize Winners who won’t be present at the final concert, won’t be awarded any prize.

Par. 19 The calendar of the examinations and the date of convocation (from which each competitor will know the day

and the time of the call for his/her category) will be published on the association website

www.ischiapianocompetition.com

Each candidate, therefore, in order to know the day of convocation, will have to visit the website or call

the secretary of the association “Note sul Mare” (tel. 0039/ 081 5071403 or 0039/ 333 3283159 ) .

“Note sul Mare” will not be responsible in this case; no other forms of convocation are considered.

Par. 20 Candidates will have to provide for their staying during the competition.

Par. 21 Pursuant to Art. 10 of the Law n° 675/96 on Personal Data Protection, the musical association “Note sul Mare”

declares that all requested personal datas will be used only to send informations strictly related to the competition.

However, pursuant to Art. 1 of the same Law, the owner of the data can forbid its use.

Par. 22 The application to the competition entails the unconditional acceptance of the rules of the present announcement.

°PRIZES°

Section 3 (Piano Performance)

First prize scholarship of €uro 1.500,00* and two concerts

Second prize scholarship of €uro 600,00** and one concert.

Third prize scholarship of €uro 300,00

*€uro 800,00 will be delivered after the competition, €uro 700,00 will be distributed during the concerts as an

expense reimbursement

**€uro 300,00 will be delivered after the competition, €uro 300,00 will be distributed during the concert as

an expense reimbursement

- The Concerts Prize will be held during the season 2026/2027 of :

Musical Association Note Sul Mare in Ischia ,

Trapani Classi Festival in Trapani ( Sicily),

Musical Association "Rospigliosi" in Pistoia

- For the First Prize of Section 3 there will be also “Andrea Monte” Prize : Holiday –Concert *Double room for two

people from July 13th to July 15th 2026 ( 3 days , 2 nights) at the “Hotel Terme Providece” ( Forio - Ischia) with

half board .

The Concert (without compensation to the winner ) will be held on July 13th 2026 at the 9 pm (21:00).
The holiday period is not replaceable . If the winner is not available for these dates , the prize will be awarded to

the next winner in the ranking.

* Just a formal reimbursement is provided for all award concerts.

Par. 23 Private agreements are being made with several musical associations, in order to give prize winners

the opportunity to play in their festivals. – At the end of the Competition the Absolute Winner of the Ischia Piano

Competition will be mentioned.

Par. 24 Recordings , television or radio broadcasting of the performances won’t give competitors any right to any reward

•PARTICIPATION MODE•

Par. 25 Candidates will have to fill out the application form and send it within and not beyond May 25th 2026

via e- mail to ischiapianocompetition@gmail.com . Proof of payment must be attached to the mail.

•REGISTRATION FEES•

The application fee will be divided into two parts:

€50 – to be paid at the time of application (non-refundable)
€40 – to be paid only by pianists admitted to the Live Competition

Total fee

Piano Performance € 90 3^ section

Payment must be net of charges banking

The registration fee can be payed by bank transfer: Banca Prossima - C/C n° 69467 headed to “Associazione Musicale

Note sul Mare” IBAN: IT47S0306909606100000069467 ; BIC/ SWIFT : BCITITMM

Filiale di Milano 20121 - Piazza Paolo Ferrari 10 – Milano

REGISTRATION HOW TO APPLY

Registration deadline: May 25, 2026

Registrations for the Ischia International Piano Competition can be made by submitting:

- Name, Surname, Place and date of birth, Nationality, Address, Telephone number, Email address, Italian TAX CODE (if available) – If the candidate is under 18, please also provide the information of a parent/guardian using the application form on the "Registration" page.

- A portrait photo for the competition's graphics

-Repertoire for the preliminary phase

-Video link (preferably YouTube)

-Repertoire for the live phases (can be modified later)

-Copy of the privacy consent form (downloadable HERE (pdf) or HERE (doc))

-The registration fee must be paid net of bank charges.

-The fee can be paid by bank transfer: Banca Prossima - C/C n° 69467 in the name of “Associazione Musicale Note sul Mare”
IBAN: IT91W0335901600100000069467; BIC/SWIFT: BCITITMM