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International Steinway Festival 2011

November 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm

It is very common to hear parents sending their children off for piano lessons these days, compared to earlier times when an average family’s disposable income was lower. While some may go because of their parents’ wishes, there are also those who possess real talent and enjoy playing the piano. Relying solely on talent, without the proper training and education, is not enough to propel them to fame and stardom. Many accomplished pianists do agree that practise and hard work are two of the most important elements in their formula for success. The opportunity to gain experience and proper exposure is vital if one is to become a famous pianist in the music industry.

Steinway Sons’ pianos have been around for centuries and have provided endless entertainment and delight

The International Steinway Festival 2012 is an important festival for aspiring pianists from all over the world. This biennial event is sponsored by Steinway Sons in Hamburg, Germany and strives to identify, encourage and promote young pianists who are in their formative stages of their careers. For the first time since its inauguration in 1987, the festival has opened its doors to welcome one participant from the South East Asia. A regional audition hosted by Steinway Gallery Singapore will see 8 finalists from 8 nations competing for the opportunity to be the 1st prize winner. This winner will appear in a concert along with the other representatives from several European nations.

The Steinway concert grand piano model D-274 is the piano of choice for many concert halls internationally, including the iconic Carnegie Hall

Bentley Music, the sole distributor of Steinway Sons Malaysia, will host a competition to seek the one talented pianist to represent Malaysia in the Steinway Regional Finals. The finals will be held in April 2012 in Singapore. The Steinway Malaysia Youth Piano Competition is also sponsored by BMW Group Malaysia. Malaysian youths aged between 10 and 17 years old as of September 2012 are greatly encouraged to submit an audition video (not longer than 10 minutes) to the organisers. Completed application forms together with a copy of the DVD recording must be submitted to Bentley Music Sdn Bhd no later than 15th January 2012.

A very talented young lady entertaining the crowd with her wonderfully played piece

From there, ten semi-finalists will be short-listed and informed by 23rd February 2012 and these ten semi-finalists will perform at the Bentley Auditorium on 22nd March 2012. Only five out of the ten will be selected as finalists, who will then compete against each other on 23rd March 2012. The winner will represent Malaysia and compete in Singapore from 27th till 29th July 2012. Contestants will have to choose from the four categories that are available in the repertoire listed here. Participants are required to choose a minimum of one piece to perform in their video submission. The semi-finalists and finalists are expected to perform at least two or more of the listed pieces for a duration of no more than 15 minutes.

Who will be the next star pianist from Malaysia?

Each entrant is entitled to prepare one submission only. Early bird submissions received before 31st December 2012 will attract a submission fee of RM150. Submissions received between 1st till 15th January 2012 will attract a fee of RM200. To download the application form and for more information, please log on to the website here.

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