The José Iturbi Competition is an international piano competition named after the famed Spanish virtuoso José Iturbi, who later became a famous Hollywood actor. Created in 1981, it has been held ever since in the month of September and is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Since 1984, it has taken place every two years at either the "Palau de la Musica" theatre or the "Teatro Principal" in Valencia, Spain, birthplace of José Iturbi. The competition consists of five rounds: 1st preliminaries, 2nd preliminaries, semi-finals, 1st finals (a classical concerto played with orchestra) and 2nd finals (a romantic concerto played with orchestra). The prize has always included a cash award, recital and orchestral engagements, and a recording contract. On two occasions, 1982 and 1992, a First Prize was not awarded.
Contents |
Participants are of all nationalities and are, as of the current eligibility requirements, 17-32 years of age.
| Year | 1st prize | 2nd prize | 3rd prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Elza Kolodin | Edson Elias | Hüseyin Sermet |
| 1982 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Michel Gal |
| 1983 | Patrick O'Byrne | Youri Pochtar | Mary Kathleen Ernst |
| 1984 | Christian Beldi | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 1986 | Rowena Arrieta | Emiko Kumagai | Yumiko Urabe |
| 1988 | Igor Kamenz | Brenno Ambrosini | Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz |
| 1990 | Aleksey Orlovetsky | ? | ? |
| 1992 | Not awarded | ? | Mariana Gurkova |
| 1994 | Miri Yampolsky | Mauricio Vallina | Atsuko Seki |
| 1996 | Uta Weyand | Jenny Lin | Jung-Eun Kim |
| 1998 | Duncan Gifford | - | - |
| 2000 | Roman Zaslavsky | Ángel Sanzo | Sheila Arnold |
| 2002 | Maria Zisi | Severin von Eckardstein
Maria Stembolskaya (ex-a.) |
Not awarded |
| 2004 | Alexandre Moutouzkine | Jean-Frédéric Neuburger | Ingmar Schwindt |
| 2006 | Josu de Solaun Soto | Valentina Igoshina | Andrei Yaroshinsky |
| 2008 | Zhengyu Chen | Soyeon Kim | Marianna Prjevalskaya |
| 2010 | Andrei Yaroshinsky | Arta Arnicane | Aleksey Lebedev |