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Hi Folks,

A former student of mine just contacted me, asking me what I thought about this competition. I've never heard of it:

http://www.ibla.org./

Does anybody here know anything about it? It's held every summer in Sicily, has no required repertoire, and no upper age limit. Prize winners get about 6-8 concerts in the US, the first one at Carnegie, but no cash, recordings, or management offers.

My former student is a very, very good player, a successful teacher, has won several local and regional contests, blah blah blah but, at 39, is about to have a mid-life crisis (I think), and really wants to win an "international" competition before, well... you know.

I never thought life ended at 40...but some people do!

Any information, thoughts or impressions would be of great help.

Thanks in advance!

No, but I've been curious about it too. The site is rather..unclear..

Isn't it just? I can't even figure out who the jury will be.

My concern is that, without any substantial prizes, one could spend a lot of time and money preparing for it but get even less out of it than advertised.

That is what I was wondering about - the jurors.

The competition is in a beautiful city, and 40 minutes of music isn't much. The competitors can look at it as a vacation with a piano competition thrown in.

Exactly. You might go down there, ready to play like a god, but you can't win anything because the jury is a pack of piano teacher harpies who only give prizes to their own students.

The food will be good anyway.

OK, so my student was able to get them to send her a jury list. Does anybody see any names they recognize?

I picked out two or three:


IBLA GRAND PRIZE
GIURIA INTERNAZIONALE, PIANISTI ACCOMPAGNATORI E MUSICISTI PER CONCERTI PUBBLICI IN PIAZZA POLA, PALAZZO AREZZO E TEATRO DONNAFUGATA


Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò - Trustee, New York University, IBLA Foundation Chair, USA
Mº Marcello Abbado - Former Director, "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory, Milano, ITALY
and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Jury Member, USA
Ms. Julija Bal, IBLA Foundation Winner, pianist, Novi Sad, SERBIA
Mr. Sherman Banks - Sister Cities Program, Little Rock, ex-President, Sister Cities World Organization, USA
Dr. Kenneth Bowles – Chairman, Music Department, Minot State University, North Dakota, USA
Dr. DeVera Bowles – Voice Faculty, Minot State University, North Dakota, USA
Prof. Victor Bunin – piano Faculty, Damascus Conservatory, SYRIA
Ms. Shannon Dillon - IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Mr. Craig Dix - IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Ms. Els Dawn - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Dr. Eugene Fellin – former Chairman, School of Music, Radford University, USA
and Chairman, Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Competition
Dr. Victoria Fischer Faw – Piano Faculty, Elon College, North Carolina, USA
Prof. Gregory Fritze - Chairman, Composition Dept, Berklee School of Music Boston, USA
Ms. Ashley George - IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Mrss. Gromes Grubler - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Cara Hesse – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, SOUTH AFRICA
Ms. Miwa Hoyano - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Mr. Inagawa Kumiko - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola

Mr. Jeffrey James - Project Director, 4Tay Records & Classical CDs. net, NY, USA
Ms. Gwylim Janssens – piano - IBLA Foundation Winner, THE NETHERLANDS
Mr. Kiguchi Masashi - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Haley Kallenberg - piano – composer, IBLA Foundation Winner, USA -
Ms. Kulow Marina - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Mr. Jason Laurits - IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Ms. Joohun Lee, - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola, North Korea
Mr. Ziquian Li - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Liu Ginny - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Tamara Licheli, piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, GEORGIA
Ms. Hee-Young Lim, cello, IBLA Foundation Winner, SOUTH KOREA
Mr. Rafal Luc, accordionist, IBLA Foundation Winner, POLAND
Mr. Steve Madsen - IBLA Foundation Board of Directors, Vice Chair, USA
Mrs. Rebecca Madsen - IBLA Foundation Board of Directors, Vice Chair, USA
Mr. Mihailiuc Vitaly - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Dr. Salvatore Moltisanti - IBLA Foundation President, New York, USA
and Chairman EPTA New York Associates, USA
former Faculty New York University and New World School of the Arts in Miami, USA
Dr. Paul Moravec - Pulitzer Prize Winner, Chair, Music Department, Adelphi University, NY, USA
Mr. Dov Moshe - IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Prof. Shen Naifan - Chairman, Tianjin State Conservatory, CHINA
Mr. Nobuo Katsube - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Mr. Nariya Nogi – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, JAPAN
Prof. Ausilia Pluchino - IBLA Foundation Advisor, Modica, ITALY
Ms. Anastasia Puzakova - pianist, Concerti Piazza Pola, Russia
Prof. Guenter Reinhold – Prof. Emeritus of the Staatlichen Hochschule(University) Musik, Founder and President of the International Akademie fuer musikalische Bildung e.V. in Karlsruhe, GERMANY
Ms. Chie Sato Roden – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, JAPAN/USA
Ms. Urano Rume - IBLA Foundation International Board of Directors, NY, USA
Mrs. Anna Rutkowska - piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, POLAND
Ms. Laura Schock, piano, IBLA International Piano Accompanist, POLAND
Prof. Gregory Sandomirsky – violin, Faculty, Park University, Kansas City, MO, USA
Ms. Lestari Scholtes – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, GERMANY
Ms. Hana Song - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Lady Dewi Sukarno - Former First Lady of Indonesia, IBLA - TOKYO Chairwoman, JAPAN
Dr. Franco & Cettina Spampinato - IBLA Foundation Directors, ITALY
Prof. Krystian Tkaczewski – Director, Chopin Competition in Hartford, CT, USA
Ms. Ana Topalovic, cello, IBLA Foundation Winner, AUSTRIA
Paola Tumeo - IBLA Foundation International Board of Directors, NY, USA
Ms. Eden Vered - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Yamaguchi Hinako - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Ms. Yamamoto Mayuko - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola
Mr. Michael Yasenak - IBLA Foundation International Board of Directors, NY, USA
Mr. Wen Guang Zheng - IBLA Foundation Musicista Concerti in Piazza Pola, CHINA


International Jury and Advisory Board

Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò - Trustee, New York University, IBLA Foundation Chair, USA
Mº Marcello Abbado - Former Director, "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory, Milano, ITALY
and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Jury Member, USA
Ms. Julija Bal, IBLA Foundation Winner, pianist, Novi Sad, SERBIA
Mr. Sherman Banks - Sister Cities Program, Little Rock, ex-President, Sister Cities World Organization, USA
Dr. Kenneth Bowles – Chairman, Music Department, Minot State University, North Dakota, USA
Dr. DeVera Bowles – Voice Faculty, Minot State University, North Dakota, USA
Prof. Victor Bunin – piano Faculty, Damascus Conservatory, SYRIA
Ms. Shannon Dillon, IBLA Foundation International Board of Advisors, USA
Dr. Eugene Fellin – former Chairman, School of Music, Radford University, USA
and Chairman, Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Competition
Dr. Victoria Fischer Faw – Piano Faculty, Elon College, North Carolina, USA
Prof. Gregory Fritze - Chairman, Composition Dept, Berklee School of Music Boston, USA
Ms. Cara Hesse – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, SOUTH AFRICA
Mr. Jeffrey James - Project Director, 4Tay Records & Classical CDs. net, NY, USA
Ms. Gwylim Janssens – piano - IBLA Foundation Winner, THE NETHERLANDS
Ms. Haley Kallenberg - piano – composer, IBLA Foundation Winner, USA
Ms. Tamara Licheli, piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, GEORGIA
Ms. Hee-Young Lim, cello, IBLA Foundation Winner, SOUTH KOREA
Mr. Rafal Luc, accordionist, IBLA Foundation Winner, POLAND
Mr. Steve & Rebecca Madsen - IBLA Foundation Board of Directors, Vice Chair, USA
Dr. Salvatore Moltisanti - IBLA Foundation President, New York, USA
and Chairman EPTA New York Associates, USA
former Faculty New York University and New World School of the Arts in Miami, USA
Dr. Paul Moravec, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Chair, Music Department, Adelphi University, NY, USA
Prof. Shen Naifan - Chairman, Tianjin State Conservatory, CHINA
Mr. Nariya Nogi – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, JAPAN
Prof. Ausilia Pluchino, IBLA Foundation Advisor, Modica, ITALY
Prof. Guenter Reinhold – Prof. Emeritus of the Staatlichen Hochschule(University) Musik, Founder and President of the International Akademie fuer musikalische Bildung e.V. in Karlsruhe, GERMANY
Ms. Chie Sato Roden – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, JAPAN/USA
Mrs. Anna Rutkowska, piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, POLAND
Ms. Laura Schock, piano, IBLA International Accompanist, POLAND
Prof. Gregory Sandomirsky – violin, Faculty, Park University, Kansas City, MO, USA
Ms. Lestari Scholtes – piano, IBLA Foundation Winner, GERMANY
Lady Dewi Sukarno - Former First Lady of Indonesia, IBLA - TOKYO Chairwoman, JAPAN
Dr. Franco & Cettina Spampinato - IBLA Foundation Directors, ITALY
Prof. Krystian Tkaczewski – Director, Chopin Competition in Hartford, CT, USA
Ms. Ana Topalovic, cello, IBLA Foundation Winner, AUSTRIA
Mr. Michael Yasenak - IBLA Foundation International Board of Directors, NY, USA

Two comments:

-- Besides the things already noted, this seems like a competition where even if you win, it won't necessarily mean much. (About the recital at Carnegie: Do you mean the big hall, i.e. Isaac Stern? I would doubt it.) *

-- It's hard to know what to make of a jury list that has so many gajillions of names. Somehow I don't think that's the jury for the upcoming event, nor any other.

Also.....maybe this is intellectual snobbery but it doesn't impress me when on their website an organization spells the name of this instrument as "hapr."


* I think you might be mistaken that a concert in any of the Carnegie venues is included. I looked pretty thoroughly at the website, and all I saw was that their winners have been presented in places "such as" Weill/Carnegie, and that last year there was a celebration at Weill with a master of ceremonies and with several of the winners doing some playing. That's very far from getting "a concert at Carnegie."

It seems like this event is an OK thing to do, if someone feels like it and thinks he'll enjoy it or find it a useful exercise toward other things, but I'd say that's about it.

Yup and Yup, Mark.

One of the previous past winners was presented in a recital in Weil hall, as it said in her interview in a paper somewhere.

To be fair, they do offer prizes for strings and voice as well as piano, so I think that's why the jury list is so long. I guess.

I recognize one or two names, but that's it. Anybody else?

It seems more likely it's a list of everyone who's ever been on the jury or might ever be.

(I think there would need to be about 50 competitions on different instruments for there to be that many jurors in a single year, unless they have a very loose concept of "juror," like that it includes people who aren't there.)

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Look at the "jury" list ... more than half are people who've won the IBLA competition in past years. If you win you get to be a jury member. Their website looks like a tourist brochure. I don't trust organizations which feature an obscure "titled person" as a prominent benefactor/supporter.

And I distrust anything which seems too "wordy" ... and this whole thing is a mish mash of names and hyped up assertions of winners playing at pretigious venues. I couldn't find a single instance with full details anywhere.

If you're packpacking through Europe and can find a hostel in the area ... why not drop in. But that's as far as I'd go.

I couldn't find how much it costs. If it's not too expensive, why not go? Visiting Italy is worthwhile by itself.

I "signed up" and recived some information about cost. The competition is "cheap", but you also have to pay for the hotel of their choice. The cheapest option without air-condition costs 180 euro (room for 2) per day. You have to be there for 7 nights. In the cost of the hotel there is hidden cost of practice rooms, etc. So I wouldn't tell that this competition is cheap...

About jury, I know one of them from my country. He/She is (not piano) teacher in conservatory, which I graduated.

You have to use the hotel they choose? That's rather unusual.

It seems that. From regulations it seems that if I not use proposed packages (hotel + food + something?) I will not be able to practice in their practice rooms . Oh yeah, competition without practicing...

I thought that it was a nice idea to take part in it, till I saw the cost. I can't afford that - it will be about 2000 euro (with airline tickets) for one week for 2 without transfering from airport. Last year I paid 500 euro for one week in Majorca with my husband with everything (transfer, all-inclusive, etc)!

Thank you all for the very helpful and informative replies. After listing your many concerns, I was able to talk my former student out of competing this summer.

Only a small number of pianists can place in the top competitions such as the Cliburn, the Busoni one, et c. The rest of the competitions don't, in my opinion, add much to a career.

Best for a pianist in 2015 is to place reams of videos on YouTube, and to perform as much as possible even at churches for free, for charity, et c. Do that while everyone else is trying to ascend Mt. Olympus.

Hi Mike,

I really think this whole impulse in my student was provoked by a looming midlife crisis. She's 39, the scary age of 40 is there on the horizon, and she really wanted to win one international contest before she went down in a blaze of glory.

Reason/career planning had little to do with it.

So really the question she wants to ask is, does she have any chance of winning, or is the jury fixed, so only the pre-chosen students can win?

I think it's really a shame how most competitions have an age limit.

...and, can she afford to compete?

Well no, that's hardly it.
Even for someone with loads of money, all of these questions exist, and they're significant.