Maria Canals International Piano Competition

Regolamento & repertorio

Iscrizione & quota

• Eligibility: age 17–29 on 1 January 2027, any nationality. Past first-prize winners are excluded. The rules bar relatives and recent pupils of jurors or preselection panel members; see sections 5 and 9 of the PDF for the respective three-year criteria.
• By 23 November 2026, complete the Muvac profile and CV, upload a recent high-resolution portrait, a scan of passport or ID, an English cover letter explaining your motivation, two audition videos and the complete competition programme form with each work timed. Pay the non-refundable €60 in Muvac. The official checklist lists an applicant’s cover letter and does not list recommendation letters.
• Results by 21 December 2026. If selected, confirm in Muvac and submit a short biography and the non-refundable €140 participation fee by 31 December 2026. Use Muvac for communications.

Prove & durate

Video preselection · two videos · combined max. 20 min

• Record one fast Beethoven sonata movement and one free-choice work. The first movements of Op. 26, Op. 28, Op. 101, Op. 109 and Op. 110 are excluded from the video requirement.
• Keep each recording continuous with a fixed camera and no postproduction, edits or manipulation. Identify the composer’s full name and work title for each selection.

Round 1 · 7–9 March · up to 20 min

• Prepare all three: (1) one Bach Prelude and Fugue from either book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, (2) one eligible Beethoven sonata in full for submission, and (3) one étude by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff or Scriabin. The Artistic Committee decides whether you play one movement, two movements or the entire Beethoven sonata.
• Ineligible Beethoven sonatas: Op. 2 No. 1, Op. 10 No. 1, Op. 13, Op. 14 Nos. 1–2, Op. 26, Op. 27 No. 2, Op. 28, Op. 31 No. 2, Op. 49 Nos. 1–2, Op. 79 and Op. 90.
• Beethoven repeats are omitted, including exposition repeats, except that all repeats are allowed in Op. 27 No. 1 movement I, Op. 57 movements II and III, and Op. 110 movement II.

Round 2 · 11–12 March · 18 pianists · up to 40 min

• Combine three components: (1) one work composed in 1995 or later, at most 5 min, with composition year and composer’s birth year, excluding your own compositions and prepared piano; (2) one Romantic work from the list below; (3) one work, sonata, single sonata movement, complete collection, or one or more items from a collection by a composer born in 1860 or later, with birth year supplied. Order is normally your choice.
• Brahms: Sonatas Op. 1, 2 or 5; Handel Variations Op. 24; Paganini Variations Op. 35 Book I or II. Chopin: Ballades Op. 23, 38, 47 or 52; Scherzos Op. 20, 31, 39 or 54; Sonatas Op. 35 or 58; Andante spianato and Grande polonaise brillante Op. 22; Polonaise Op. 44; Polonaise-fantaisie Op. 61; Fantaisie Op. 49.
• Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue. Liszt: B-minor Sonata, Dante Sonata, Spanish Rhapsody, Mephisto Waltz or Ballade No. 2. Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 Op. 36 (1931 version) or Corelli Variations Op. 42.
• Schubert: Sonatas D. 850, D. 894 or D. 960, or Wanderer Fantasy Op. 15. Schumann: Carnaval Op. 9, Kreisleriana Op. 16, Sonata No. 2 Op. 22, Fantasy Op. 17, or Symphonic Etudes Op. 13 with or without posthumous variations.

Semifinal · 14 March · 6 pianists · up to 50 min

• Free recital with at least one work by a Spanish composer. Exclude anything played in earlier live rounds, along with Chopin’s Études Op. 10 and Op. 25 and Preludes Op. 28, and Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op. 12.

Final · 17 March · 3 pianists · one concerto

• Choose one: Beethoven No. 4 Op. 58, Chopin No. 1 Op. 11, Schumann Op. 54, Brahms No. 2 Op. 83, Tchaikovsky No. 1 Op. 23, Rachmaninoff No. 2 Op. 18 or No. 3 Op. 30, or Prokofiev No. 2 Op. 16 or No. 3 Op. 26.

Repertorio

• Across the competition programme include at least two works by two different Spanish composers, including at least one Catalan composer, and at least one work by a woman composer. The 2027 commission, Marc Migó’s Three Daydreams, is optional.
• Play from memory. Prepared piano is excluded. Across the first round, second round and semifinal, at most two works by any one composer; the concerto final may add a third. Time limits apply even when repeats are chosen.
• Repertoire is locked from 23 November. A documented force-majeure change can be requested in Muvac until 31 December 2026. Finalists stay through 19 March 2027 for possible media and events. The published rules also specify the piano test, signing of the submitted programme, accommodation and official events.

Fonte: Official 2027 rules and repertoire (PDF) · Muvac application