General Rules for 2024 Competition

COMPETITION DIRECTOR AND CHAIRPERSON: Dr. Yelena Balabanova

APPLICATION FEE: 
$60 (5 minutes and less, 1 or 2 solo piano Austrian or German piece(s)
$75 (6 to 10 minutes, 1 or 2 solo piano Austrian or German piece(s) OR piano concerto movement OR piano/other instruments and chamber music with piano.
$90 (11 to 15 minutes, 1 or 2 solo piano Austrian or German pieces OR piano concerto movement(s) OR piano/other instruments and chamber music with piano.

PERFORMER ELIGIBILITY: Any age, any nationality, any country. 

JUDGING SYSTEM: Each video link is individually evaluated with a point system. There is no peer-to-peer comparison and all participants are individually judged by world class adjudicators.
Gold 96 – 100
Silver 91 – 95
Bronze 85 – 90
Participation Certificate 0 – 84

JUDGING CRITERIA:
Stylistic awareness
Technical facility
Musicality
Sound maturity
General presentation

REPERTOIRE: Published Austrian or German composers only. Maximum 2 pieces are allowed for each category. If 2 pieces are used, please note that lower quality piece will affect the total score. Piano transcriptions of orchestra works by German or Austrian composers are allowed. However, participants may not perform simplified editions, non-classical, or any music from method books. Memorization required for all SOLO and CONCERTO works. Chamber works (i.e., duets, trios, etc) are excluded from the memorization requirement.

YOUTUBE:
All solo piano works must be performed from memory except for chamber works. Concertos must be performed by memory and must have accompaniment. For piano concertos, the accompanist's face must NOT BE VISIBLE on the YouTube link. The video must be unedited and must clearly show the contestant’s hand and face. The judges' decision are final and cannot be appealed. TITLE in YouTube link must say 2024 International German Music Piano Competition, NAME and AGE. DESCRIPTION AREA must have composer(s) and piece(s) performed. 

INSTRUMENTS: Solo piano, piano duets, piano trios, piano transcriptions, piano ensembles with other instruments, piano concertos

PRIZES: Downloadable Medal diplomas will be provided to all Gold, Silver, Bronze winners, each with winner's name and teacher's name. Outstanding video performances from the Gold winners will be chosen by judge and will be featured on website and social media. 

2024 ADJUDICATOR

DR. ALVIN CHOW

Alvin Chow has appeared throughout North America and Asia as orchestral soloist and recitalist. In addition, he has performed extensively in duo-piano recitals with his wife, Angela Cheng, and his twin brother, Alan. A native of Miami, Florida, he graduated summa cum laude and Co-Valedictorian (with his brother) at the University of Maryland, where he was a student of Nelita True. Mr. Chow received the Victor Herbert Prize in Piano upon graduation from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Sasha Gorodnitzki, and held the Joseph Battista Memorial Scholarship at Indiana University as a student of Menahem Pressler.

Mr. Chow has won top prizes in numerous competitions such as the National Symphony Young Soloists Competition, Civic Orchestra of Chicago Young Soloists Competition, William Kapell International Piano Competition, and the New York Piano Teachers Congress International Piano Competition. He has been presented as recitalist in such cities as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Vienna, Montreal, Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles, and has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Colorado Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Pan-Asia Symphony in Hong Kong, Shanghai Philharmonic, and Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, among others. He has also been Convention Artist for the state MTNA conferences in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee. With Angela Cheng, he performed as Conference Artist for the 2019 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.

Mr. Chow has presented numerous master classes and lectures at music institutions throughout the United States and abroad, including the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Colburn School, Eastman School of Music, and Indiana University. He has taught and performed at numerous summer festivals, including the Shanghai Piano Festival, Banff Piano Master Classes, North Coast Piano Festival, Southeastern Piano Festival, New Orleans International Piano Festival, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, Lake Como Summer Piano School in Italy, and the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria.

Mr. Chow was the first Fulbright Visiting Artist in Piano at the University of Arkansas, and also taught at the University of Colorado. Mr. Chow is presently a member of the artist faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He served as Chair of the Piano Department from 2007-19, and from 2011-14 he was the Ruth Strickland Gardner Professor of Music. Awarded Oberlin’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2016, Mr. Chow was appointed Director of the Division of Keyboard Studies in 2019.

2024 ADJUDICATOR

DR. YOON-WHA ROH

Acclaimed as “a pianist who lets her piano work do the talking, transporting her audience not only to a clearly defined place but also into a colorful adventure” (Hyde Park Herald), Yoon-Wha Roh has been acknowledged for her versatile and sophisticated performances. Roh has appeared as a celebrated soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, New Jersey Garden State Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, Sungnam Philharmonic Orchestra, and New York Classical Symphony Orchestra. Roh has been featured on WFMT and KPBX radio stations and Korean monthly music magazines, and , for her performances and interviews.

Roh has won awards and prizes from London International Music Competition, Clara Schumann International Competition, Manhattan International Music Competition, National Artists Competition, American Prize, International Moscow Music Competition, Carles and Sofia Piano Competition, Piano Texas Concerto Competition, and Hakata Fukuoka International Piano Competition among others.

Notable performances have been presented at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center Bruno Walter Auditorium, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Seoul Arts Center, Aspen Harris Concert Hall, New York Steinway Hall, and Jordan Hall. Her international appearances include performances in Prague, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Korea.

Roh is also active as a clinician and competition judge. She has served as a competition judge for Manhattan International Music Concours, East Coast International Competition, and New York International Music Concours among others. Roh currently teaches at Washington State University as Assistant Professor of Piano.

2023 ADJUDICATOR

Peter Takács

Hailed by the New York Times as “a marvelous pianist,” PETER TAKÁCS has performed widely, receiving critical and audience acclaim for his penetrating and communicative musical interpretations.

Mr. Takács was born in Bucuresti, Romania and started his musical studies before his fourth birthday. After his debut recital at age seven, he was a frequent recitalist in his native city until his parents' request for emigration to the West, at which point all his studies and performances were banned. He continued studying clandestinely with his piano teacher until his family was finally allowed to emigrate to France, where, at age fourteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National de Paris.

Upon his arrival in the United States, his outstanding musical talents continued to be recognized with full scholarships to Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a three-year fellowship for doctoral studies at the Peabody Conservatory, where he completed his artistic training with renowned pianist Leon Fleisher.

Mr. Takács has received numerous prizes and awards for his performances, including First Prize in the William Kapell International Competition, the C.D. Jackson Award for Excellence in Chamber Music at the Tanglewood Music Center, and a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has performed as guest soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as at important summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, ARIA International, Schlern Music Festival in the Italian Alps, Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, Sweden’s Helsingborg Festival, and Musicfest Perugia 2014. Since 2008, he has been a member of the faculty at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in Riverside, CA. He has performed and recorded the complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, which was released on the CAMBRIA label in July 2011, as well as the complete Beethoven piano-cello works with Robert DeMaine, released in 2022 on the Leaf Music label. In 2015, he was selected to inaugurate a new series in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall entitled “Key Pianists”, presenting three recitals of Beethoven solo and chamber music to critical acclaim. In 2020, an endowed fund was established for The Peter Takács Beethoven Prize in Piano. He is Professor of Piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has taught since 1976.

2024 Competition Results

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR PIANISTS!
Medal and Excellence Certificates are available for download HERE.
Winners of MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER PRIZE will receive a special award on October 6, 2024.

AGES 7 and under
GOLD: Amy Liu, (Teacher: Grace Huang)
GOLD: Sofia Yu, (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Jinluo Pei, (Teacher: Hong Liu)
SILVER: Olivia Kweon, (Teacher: Hanna Cho)
SILVER: Yuxin Sun, (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Eliana Cho, (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Ivy Yu, (Teacher: Hong Liu)
BRONZE: Farah Beydoun, (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Muyi Chen, (Teacher: John Lee)

AGE 8
GOLD: Annabelle Wang, (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
GOLD: Daniel Wang, (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
GOLD: Yiwen Ding, (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Rebecca Li, (Teacher: Grace Huang)
BRONZE: Boris Yang, (Teacher: Anaida Nagdyan)
BRONZE: Christopher James Chang, (Teacher: Cole Tinney)
BRONZE: Winston Zhang, (Teacher: Claire Chen)

AGE 9
GOLD: Harper Li, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
GOLD: Kaichen Jin (Teacher: Hong Liu)
GOLD: Kaidi Jin (Teacher: Hong Liu)
GOLD: Sally Gao (Teacher: Hong Liu)
SILVER: Bella Jiang (Teacher: Hong Liu)
SILVER: Caroline Zhang (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
BRONZE: Tinsley Xu (Teacher: Shaoming Greene)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Wenxuan Huang

AGE 10
GOLD: Chloe Nari Wang, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Aisha Beydoun (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Heidi Li (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
SILVER: Miyako Berman (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Sophie Qin (Teacher: Grace Huang)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Javan Kang, Sofia Shao

AGE 11
GOLD: Alexander Wang, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
GOLD: Ethan Xu (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Alice Xiong (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
SILVER: Ru-Shan An (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
BRONZE: Brandon Yang (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Harry Zhang (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
BRONZE: Yuezhu Zhou (Teacher: Hong Liu)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Leyi Chen, Tianyi Zhao, Weilian William Lin

AGE 12
GOLD: Sydney Cui, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Joyce Wang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Mingxiang Gu (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
BRONZE: Henna Kang (Teacher: Hanna Cho)
BRONZE: Qiancang Dai (Teacher: Shaoming Greene)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Aaron Jin, Alexandria Shieh, Yiling Sun

AGE 13
GOLD: Jonathan Yang, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Emily Liu (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Toko Ota (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Eli Long (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Emily (Jiayao) Zhang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
BRONZE: Simon Zhu (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Kevin Xiao, Anna Li, Chenrui Gao, Eugene Li, Ryan Ling

AGE 14
GOLD: Audrey Cui, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Alexander Vollmer (Teacher: SH Youn)
BRONZE: Radmila Sabirova (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Sherry Zhu (Teacher: Hong Liu)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Jeffery Lou, Hennry Lou

AGE 15 AND UP
GOLD: Jeffrey Zhao, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
GOLD: Uina Yamaguchi, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
GOLD: Alexander Zhang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Courtney Tam (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
GOLD: Minjae Kim (Teacher: SH Youn)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Audrey Shieh, Haowen Zhang, Jessica X.H. Chen, Mutian Gao

ADULT AMATEUR, NON-PIANO MAJOR
GOLD: Chelsea Lee (Teacher: Leah Deobold)
SILVER: Godwin Hong (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Mayumi Ohara (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Jianfeng Gao (Teacher: Grace Huang)

DUETS, ALL AGES
GOLD: Kaitlyn Gia Lee & Alexander Vollmer, MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMER* (Teacher: SH Youn)
GOLD: Owen YuTong Wu and Brian YuTong Wu (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
GOLD: Yuxin Sun and Yiling Sun (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Ian Kang and Claire Kang (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Jaden Shan and Claire Shan (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE: Isaac Kim and Eden Kim

CONCERTOS, ALL AGES
GOLD: Ethan Park, age 10 (Teacher: SH Youn)
GOLD: Wallace Wang, age 7 (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Alexander Vollmer, age 14 (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Minjae Kim, age 17 (Teacher: SH Youn)

*Names with asterisk indicate Gold Medalist Winners selected by the adjudicator to perform at the Bellevue Symphony Fall Concert Pre-Show at Meydenbauer Theater on October 6, 2024 at 2 pm.

About Us
  • 100% of all registration fees from the International German Music Piano Competition go directly to Bellevue Symphony. We are an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
    Get In Touch

      Dr. Yelena Balabanova, Competition Director

      Conney Vernall, Competition Director

      Allan Park, Registrar

    EMAIL US
    Executive Board

    BELLEVUE SYMPHONY 
BOARD MEMBERS:
    Dr. Sara Wagner, Board Member, Executive Director
    Allan Park, President
    Dr. Adam Aleksander, 1st Vice President
    Nino Merabishvili, 2nd Vice President
    Dr. Hanna Cyba, Secretary
    Brian Davenport, Treasurer
    Dana Davenport, Board Member, Logistics
    Jeff Elwell, Board Member, Concert Manager
    Kevin Burton, Board Member, Hospitality Manager

    BELLEVUE SYMPHONY STAFF
    Bob Gale, Personnel Manager
    Deborah McClellan, Librarian

    ADVISORS
    Dr. Yelena Balabanova, Artistic Advisor
    Dr. Natalya Ageyeva, Advisor
    Dr. Renato Fabbro, Advisor
    Conney Vernall, Advisor
    Risa Jun, Advisor