International Piano e-Competion finals

International Piano e-Competition about to begin

The Minnesota International e-Piano Competition 2008 is designed for young pianists ages 17 and under. This e-competition is an innovative form combining the traditional music competition with advanced technology since 2002. The young pianists from all over the world have been selected through virtual auditions and will perform live in Minneapolis starting this Saturday, July 5.

According to the President and Artistic Director Alexander Braginsky, the goal was to create a competition where judging is made easy. “It is simple yes or no after each round. The other goal was to apply the most advanced technology available to make the competition accessible by the widest possible audience. At the same time I was looking for ways to involve in the judging a star performer who could not find the time to come to the Twin Cities in person. All ideas inevitably led to the extensive use of the Internet – quite a new concept in piano competitions at the time. Hence the use of “e” in the e-Competition name: to set it apart.”

This year, up to sixty contestants were selected from the application CDs, and invited to participate in the Disklavier/Video Recording. Disklavier is the most advanced Yamaha keyboard allowing it to record the most minute gradations of a key or a pedal being pressed, in the form of MIDI data. The resulting MIDI files then can be played on another piano equipped with the same technology to produce a performance virtually indistinguishable from the original. Five sites around the world were prepared for these auditions. The sites included Shanghai, China; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Toronto and Vancouver, Canada; Los Angeles and New York City, U. S. A. The performances were recorded and videotaped. These materials were then viewed in New York by the screening jury during the virtual auditions. 24 young contestants from all over the world were selected to final rounds taking place in Minneapolis this week. This number will be narrowed to 5 competitors who will perform live with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Mark Russell Smith. The first place winner will get $8000.

The official e-Competition site