Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition

The Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition (formerly known as Concurso de Piano de Santander) is a piano competition taking place in Santander

Santander, Cantabria

The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

every three years, organized by the Albéniz Foundation. Founded in 1972 as a national prize, it turned into an international competition in its 2nd edition, and was professionalized in the mid-70s, being accepted into the World Federation of International Music Competitions

World Federation of International Music Competitions

The World Federation of International Music Competitions is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classical music through public competition...

in 1976.

Organized by the Albéniz Foundation

Albéniz Foundation

The Albeniz Foundation , is a private non-profit organization promoting classical music in Spain through the Queen Sofía College of Music, the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition, the Isaac Albeniz library and research centre, the International Institute of Chamber Music in Madrid...

and chaired by the Infanta Margarita

Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria

-Ancestry:-External links:*...

and sponsored by a network of civil service and private companies, it arranges an extensive world tour for the winners, including debuts in auditoriums such as the Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

, National Auditorium of Music

National Auditorium of Music

The Auditorio Nacional de Música is a complex of concert venues located in Madrid, Spain and the main concert hall in the Madrid metropolitan area...

and the Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...

and 100,500 € in cash prizes.

The competition

Currently, 20 pianists are accepted into the competition through a demanding shortlist of candidates. The competition consists of a preliminary round (pre-auditions in Spain, London, Paris, New York and Moscow), a recital round, a chamber music round, the semifinals (concertos with chamber orchestra) and final concerto round with a symphony orchestra.

Guest artists

During the last stages of the competition, the participants perform with guests artists and ensembles. Past ensembles include the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

, Dresden Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra

Madrid Symphony Orchestra

The Madrid Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1903, is the oldest existing Spanish symphony orchestra not linked to an opera house in Spain.-History:...

, Northern Sinfonia

Northern Sinfonia

The Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The...

, Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is Scotland's national chamber orchestra, based in Edinburgh. One of Scotland’s five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland. The SCO appears...

, Takacs Quartet

Takács Quartet

The Takács Quartet is a string quartet, founded in Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States.- History :In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gabor Takács-Nagy , Károly Schranz , Gabor Ormai , and András Fejér formed The Takács Quartet...

, Ysaÿe Quartet

Ysaÿe Quartet

The Ysaÿe Quartet is a French string quartet that was founded in 1984 by students at the Paris Conservatoire named after the original Ysaÿe Quartet.Its current members are:...

and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra

Vienna Chamber Orchestra

The Vienna Chamber Orchestra is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus....

and conductors Philippe Entremont

Philippe Entremont

Philippe Entremont is a French pianist and conductor. He has made many recordings during his career, notably one in 1961 of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic....

, Sergiu Comissiona

Sergiu Comissiona

Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:...

and Jesús López-Cobos

Jesús López-Cobos

Jesús López-Cobos is a Spanish conductor.López-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Castile-León, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy...

Juries

Members of the jury have included Josep Colom

Josep Colom

Josep Colom is an Spanish Catalan classical pianist.- Biography and career :Colom was born in Barcelona, Spain, in the difficult years of the Spanish post-war. He began piano lessons in Barcelona with his aunt Rosa Colom, and later moved to Paris to study at the École Normale de Musique...

, Federico Mompou

Federico Mompou

Frederic Mompou i Dencausse was a Catalan Spanish composer and pianist. He is best known for his solo piano music and his songs.-Life:...

, Vlado Perlemuter

Vlado Perlemuter

Vlado Perlemuter was a Lithuanian-born French pianist.-Biography:Vlado Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family, the third of four sons, in Kovno, Russia . At the age of three, he lost the use of his left eye in an accident.His family settled in France in 1907...

, Joaquín Achúcarro

Joaquín Achúcarro

Joaquín Achúcarro is a Basque Spanish classical pianist.- Biography and career :Achúcarro was born in Bilbao, Spain, in the difficult years of the Spanish post-war period. He began piano lessons at the Bilbao Conservatory and, in 1956, at the age of 13, made his concerto debut in Bilbao playing a...

, Aldo Ciccolini

Aldo Ciccolini

Aldo Ciccolini , is an Italian-French pianist.-Biography:Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, who bore the title of Marquis of Macerara, worked as a typographer. He took his first lessons with Maria Vigliarolo d'Ovidio, and entered Naples Conservatory in 1934 at the age of 9, by special...

, Nikita Magaloff

Nikita Magaloff

Nikita Magaloff was a Georgian-Russian pianist.He was born in Saint Petersburg to a Georgian noble family named Maghalashvili. Magaloff and his family left Russia in 1918 for Finland and then Paris, where he studied with Isidor Philipp, chair of the piano department at the Paris Conservatory...

, Paul Badura-Skoda

Paul Badura-Skoda

Paul Badura-Skoda is an Austrian pianist.He won first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed with distinguished conductors like Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan...

, Hiroko Nakamura

Hiroko Nakamura

is a Japanese pianist. She is the youngest, and the second Japanese prizewinner at the 7th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition...

, Eliso Virsaladze

Eliso Virsaladze

Eliso Virsaladze is a Georgian pianist.She was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Her father Constantine Virsaladze was a prominent physician, so was her grandfather Spiridon Virsaladze. She received her first piano lessons at the age of 8 from her grandmother, Anastasia Virsaladze, a well-known music...

, Rafael Orozco, Philippe Entremont

Philippe Entremont

, Alicia de Larrocha

Alicia de Larrocha

Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle was a Spanish pianist from Catalonia. One of the great piano legends of the 20th century, Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", Time "one of the world's most outstanding pianists" and The Guardian "the leading Spanish pianist of her...

and Dimitri Bashkirov.

Winners

Prize-winners include Josep Colom

Josep Colom

, Barry Douglas

Barry Douglas

Barry Douglas OBE is a classical pianist and conductor. He studied piano, cello, clarinet and organ while growing up in Belfast. He first studied in Belfast while attending Methodist College Belfast and, at 16, had lessons with Felicitas LeWinter, a pupil of Emil von Sauer and grand-pupil of...

, Eldar Nebolsin

Eldar Nebolsin

Eldar Nebolsin is an Uzbek-born classical pianist.- Biography :Born in Uzbekistan in 1974, Nebolsin started studying piano at early age in his native country...

, Alberto Nosè

Alberto Nosè

Alberto Nosè , is an Italian pianist.-Biography:Born in Villafranca di Verona, Italy in 1979, Alberto Nosé studied at the Verona Conservatory F. E. Dall’Abaco...

, Boris Giltburg

Boris Giltburg

Boris Giltburg is an Israeli-Russian classical pianist . - Biography and career :Giltburg was born in Moscow, Russia, and began studying piano with his mother at the age of five...

and Ning An

Ning An

-Biography:Born in Beijing in 1976, Ning An studied at the United States at the New England Conservatory with Russell Sherman and Olga Radosavljevich...

. All prize-winners are named in the List of Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition prize-winners.

The competition

Guest artists

Juries

Winners

See also