DINU LIPATTI COMPETITION

TERMS OF ENTRY & RULES

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The Dinu Lipatti International Piano Competition is open to pianists of any age and nationality, born after October 1st 1992.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Registration for the competition will be made exclusively online on the competition website, available at www.dinulipatticompetition.org, until August 30, 2026 and must include the following documents: 

 

  • A copy of candidate's Identity Card or Passport
  • Updated biography in English
  • A recent portrait photo
  • A link to the registration for the Online Round 
  • The competition repertoire (this cannot be changed afterwards)
  • Proof of payment of the entry fee of €150, paid into the Fundația Culturală "Pro Arte" bank account

PAYMENT BY BANK TRANSFER

ACCOUNT HOLDER: FUNDAȚIA CULTURALĂ "PRO ARTE"

 

RON IBAN: RO85RNCB0134041655630004
BANK: BANCA COMERCIALĂ ROMÂNĂ S.A

 

EUR IBAN: RO58RNCB0134041655630005
BANKBANCA COMERCIALĂ ROMÂNĂ S.A
SWIFT CODE: RNCBROBU

Register Now

COMPETITION TIMETABLE

25The competition will have four rounds, as follows:

ONLINE ROUND

25.08 - 30.08.2026
Eliminatory

  1. Candidates will submit a video recording of the required repertoire for this round.
  2. The video recording must contain the name and surname of the candidate and the titles of the works.
  3. The video recording must not be more than 6 months old at the time of the application.
  4. The video recording will be uploaded to a YouTube link (the video can be public or unlisted).
  5. Editing the works performed in the video recording in any form is strictly forbidden.
  6. Sound and image quality are the sole responsibility of the candidate.
  7. The recording must be made with a static camera so that both the candidate's face and hands can be seen.


Any video recording which does not comply with the above rules will result in the rejection of the application.
Results of the Online Round will be announced on August 31st, 2025.


DRAWING

01.09.2026
The drawing will take place online and will determine the candidates' order for the first round. Each candidate will receive via email all details regarding the online procedure.

FIRST ROUND

21.09 - 22.09.2026
A maximum of 40 candidates will be selected in the first round.

SEMIFINAL

23.09 - 24.09.2026
A maximum of 12 candidates will be selected for the semifinal.
Candidates will follow the repertoire set out in the rules for this round.

MORNING REHEARSAL WITH THE ORCHESTRA FOR THE FINAL

25.09.2026

THE FINAL

Concert with the "Oltenia" Philharmonic Orchestra - Craiova
25.09.2026

A maximum of 3 candidates will be selected for the Final.
AWARD GALA

"Oltenia" Philharmonic Orchestra - Craiova
25.09.2026

The awards gala will take place after the final round, following the jury’s deliberation.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

ONLINE ROUND

Maximum 20 minutes

 A program of candidate's choice which should include:

  • The first movement of a W. A. Mozart sonata (without repeats)
  • A work from the Romantic period

 

FIRST ROUND – Oltenia Philharmonic – Craiova

Maximum 25 minutes

 A program of candidate's choice which must include:

  • Three movements from a Partita by J. S. Bach, or two contrasting sonatas by D. Scarlatti
  • A work composed by Dinu Lipatti, to be chosen from: Nocturne on a Moldavian Theme WoO. – B.14 (1937), Fantasy Op. 8 (either Part I or Part IV), Sonatina for the Left Hand (either Part I or Parts II and III)

See below for information on how to access digital scores.

 

SEMIFINAL – Oltenia Philharmonic – Craiova

Maximum 50 minutes

 A program of candidate's choice which should include:

  • Works from different stylistic periods, including a waltz by F. Chopin



FINAL - with the Oltenia Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra - Craiova

A concert of candidate's choice which should be selected from:

 

W. A. Mozart

  • Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, KV 271
  • Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, KV 466
  • Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, KV 467
  • Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, KV 482
  • Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, KV 488
  • Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, KV 491


L. van Beethoven

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
  • Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
  • Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 (“Emperor”)

F. Chopin

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21

F. Liszt

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
  • Piano Concerto No. 2, S. 125

R. Schumann

  • Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

E. Grieg

  • Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

J. Brahms

  • Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15
  • Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83

P. I. Tchaikovsky

  • Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23

 

S. Rachmaninoff

  • Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18
  • Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30
  • Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

S. Prokofiev

  • Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 26
 
THE JURY 

Martin Hughes - President of the Jury

Dana Borșan

Aki Kuroda

Gianluca Luisi

Viniciu Moroianu

Mihai Ungureanu

Florian Wiek

 

THE CONDUCTOR: OVIDIU BĂLAN

THE ORCHESTRA: "Oltenia" Philharmonic Orchestra - Craiova

 

PRIZES

FIRST PRIZE - €10.000

SECOND PRIZE - €5.000

THIRD PRIZE - €3.000

SPECIAL PRIZES:

  • The “Jean Mihail” Prize for the Best Ranked Romanian Competitor
  • The ‘Chopin’ Prize for the Best Performance of a Waltz by F. Chopin
  • The organizer awards prizes consisting of concerts held within the concert seasons of Romanian Philharmonics.
  • In addition to the prizes awarded by the organizer, prizes may also be granted by partners and sponsors. Prizes awarded by partners and sponsors can be combined.

ACCESS TO THE OFFICIAL DIGITAL SCORES

The First Round repertoire is available in the Competition Registration Form. Each work is accompanied by a reference video performance for artistic guidance.

The official digital scores of the five selected works are provided by GrafoArt Musical Association and can be accessed through nkoda.com.

 

How to access the scores

  1. Create a personal account on nkoda.
  2. Sign in to your nkoda account.
  3. Use the Search function and search for the required work by composer and title. nkoda allows you to search its library by composer and title.
  4. Open the score in the nkoda digital score reader.

 

Important
A personal nkoda account is required to access the digital scores.
The scores are provided exclusively in digital format through nkoda by GrafoArt Musical Associations.
*Access to the scores is subject to nkoda's and the publisher's licensing terms.

*the scores will be available on the nkoda website starting July 10, 2027

OTHER TERMS

Proof of payment for the participation fee must be submitted concurrently with the online registration.
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The registration fee will not be refunded in the event of rejection following the preselection, withdrawal or non-attendance.

The candidates' order, set by lot at the beginning of the competition will be maintained throughout all rounds of the competition.

The results will be announced by the Organizing Committee after the completion of each round, after deliberation by the Jury.

The Jury shall abide by the provisions of the Competition Rules.

Candidates are strictly forbidden from having any contact with members of the Jury throughout their participation in the competition. Jury members are not allowed to evaluate their own students or pupils.

Practice rooms will be made available to the candidates before each round of the competition.

Finalists will have one rehearsal with the orchestra.
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Candidates must perform the repertoire from memory, except the Lipatti pieces. 

All the semifinalists will receive diplomas.
All the finalists will receive diplomas and medals.
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By participating, the candidates will grant the "PRO ARTE" - Cultural Foundation the right to audio/video-broadcast all the materials from the competition, on all media channels deemed appropriate by the organizers, the right of photography, live transmission and recording. The materials used will have the sole purpose of promoting both the competitors and the competition.
‍By completing and submitting the ONLINE entry form, the candidate agrees to the terms and conditions of these rules.
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All information published on the official Competition website is correct at the time of publication. The Organizing  Committee reserves the right to make changes if circumstances so require.

The original Romanian version of the competition rules supersedes all other interpretations.

Candidates are responsible for their travel and accommodation costs.

The Competition will issue participants official invitations for their visa applications.

CONTACT
For any information and details: contact@dinulipatticompetition.org