Competitions › International Competition Piano Val de Travers (Piano Neuchâtel - Val de Travers)
International Competition Piano Val de Travers (Piano Neuchâtel - Val de Travers)
Next edition
- Edition
- 2027
- Dates
- 5-7 February 2027
- Location
- Neuchâtel
- Registration deadline
- 10 December 2026 (intro text says 5 December)
- Fee
- Cat. A CHF 110 / EUR 120; Cat. B CHF 130 / EUR 140
Source: emcy.org
Overview
Biennial international piano competition in Neuchâtel for young pianists of any nationality, EMCY member. Category A (juniors) has a video round and a live final; Category B has a video round, a recital semi-final and a concerto final with Les Solistes de Neuchâtel.
- Organiser
- Association « Les interprètes de demain » (artistic director Katja Avdeeva)
- Instruments
- Piano
- Category
- Solo piano
- Age limits
- 2027: Category A born on or after 7 February 2011; Category B born on or after 7 February 1998
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
- Open to all nationalities. A: born 7 February 2011 or later. B: born 7 February 1998 or later. The 2027 deadline field gives 10 December 2026, but the introduction also says 5 December. Confirm with the organizer if applying after 5 December.
- Email the application form, proof of birth date (passport or ID), passport photo, diploma copies, payment receipt and one YouTube or Vimeo link to info@piano.international. A: CHF 110 by transfer or €120 online; B: CHF 130 or €140. Non-refundable. Published checklist does not list recommendation letters.
Rounds & time limits
Category A · video round · 8–12 min
- One virtuoso selection (étude, presto, toccata or sonata finale), plus one free-choice piece. If under eight minutes, add another free-choice piece.
Category A · live final · 6 February · max. 15 min
- Up to 20 pianists play a free-choice recital. The round-specific note allows scores only for works written after 1970.
Category B · video round
- One Bach Well-Tempered Clavier Prelude and Fugue (either book) plus one étude by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Scriabin, Ligeti, Unsuk Chin or Rubinstein.
Category B · live semifinal · 5 February · 25–30 min
- Up to 20 pianists. Perform one or more free-choice pieces and one work written after 1970. Only a post-1970 work may be played from the score under this round’s rule.
Category B · live final · 7 February · one concerto
- Four finalists with Les Solistes de Neuchâtel. Choose Mozart No. 12 K. 414, Beethoven No. 3 Op. 37 or Chopin No. 1 Op. 11.
Repertoire
- Record once, without edits, within the past 12 months. Fixed camera with face and hands visible. Other-competition recordings are excluded. Title must include 2027 competition name, full name, birth date and category. The general rules say to bring three score copies for post-1960 works; the round-specific score-use note uses the later date of 1970.
Jury & prizes
Jury
Not published on the official pages we could check.Prizes
- Cat. A: CHF 1,000 / 700 / 300
- Cat. B: 1st CHF 4,000 plus solo recital in 2028, 2nd CHF 2,000, 3rd CHF 1,000; finalists CHF 500
- EMCY Prize, WEpiano festival recital, 'Val de Travers' prize recital, recital at Grange aux Ours-es (France)
Past editions
To protect minors, we do not show the names of winners in categories open to under-18s, or of winners whose category the official source does not state (this competition also has under-18 categories). Category, age range and prize are always shown.
Summarised from official sources, last checked 14 Nov 2026. Main source