Regulations

The Fourth International Piano Competition ”Jeune Chopin” for children and youth /Lugano 2025/ will be held from 27th to 30 of March 2025 in the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano.

1. Categories
There are three age categories:

Category I – for contestants aged 12 years and under /one stage/
Category II – for contestants aged 15 years and under /one stage/
Category III – for contestants aged 18 years and under /two stages/

  • The competition is open to children from all over the world and all nationalities. Three places are reserved for children from Switzerland. The number of contestants is limited. The number of contestants is limited to ten in each category.
  • Contestants who do not attend state-run music schools are also free to participate.
  • Should participants fall to comply with the rules and regulations they will be excluded from the competition.

2. Application
Application form should be filled and sent in by December 22nd 2024 along with a confirmed copy of the birth document, link to the participant’s video recording on youtube, a bank payment receipt and one passport photograph to the following e-mail address:

contact@institutchopin.com

or by post

Institut F. Chopin en Suisse
Grand Rue 22
1820 Montreux

Participants are obliged to pay the entrance fee of -150 CHF (Swiss Francs) to the account of Institut F. Chopin en Suisse bank account number:

Institut Frédéric Chopin en Suisse
Banque Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft
Raiffeisen Platz 4
9001 St. Gallen
IBAN CH60 8080 8004 3783 9191 1
No. CB: 80808
SWIFT-BIC: RAIFCH22XXX

  • The total value of the prizes will be about CHF 6.000 and performances in prestigious halls in Switzerland and Poland.
  • The entrance fee transfer cost is to be covered by the participants or by institutions which delegate them.
  • No application sent after December 22nd 2024 shall be accepted.

Application form

3. Participants
By the 26th of January 2025, applicants will receive a letter confirming their participation in the contest in Switzerland.

  • Candidates whose applications will not be accepted after the preselection round on youtube will not receive their entrance fee back. The entrance fee shall not be returned also to a candidate who withdraws their application after 26th of January 2025 or fails to appear at the audition in Lugano
  • Participation costs i.e.journey, accommodation and board are covered by the participants.
  • Participants need to record the preliminary program using a good quality recorder and camera. The movie should show the whole profile of the child. The pieces need to be perform by heart with regard to repetitions marked.
  • The program will be performed in the order stated in the application.
  • The participants of respective age categories will perform in the alphabetical order, starting with the letter which will be drawn by a special body. The drawing will be held in the Competition office on 23rd of January 2025. The organizers reserve the possible change of the order of performances.
  • Not more than a half of the number of Category III participants will get from Stage 1 to Stage 2. They will perform in the alphabetical order starting with the letter drawn before Stage 1.
  • It is admitted to use all editions. It is advisable to use national edition revised by prof. Jan Ekier.
  • The Jury may interrupt the performance if the time limit is exceeded.
    The competition is open to the public.

Each Preliminary Round and Competition participant will:

  • Permit the Institute to make audio and visual recordings of his/her artistic performances of works in the Preliminary Round, the Competition and the prize-winners’ concerts and transfer to the Institute all economic rights to these performances.
  • Permit the Institute to make audio and visual recordings of his/her image, statements and interviews given during the Preliminary Round, the Competition and the prize-winners’ concerts or relating to the Preliminary Round, the Competition and the prize-winners’ concerts; transfer to the Institute all property rights to these statements and interviews;and permit the Institute to disseminate his/her image recorded in connection with his/her participation in the Preliminary Round, the Competition and the prize-winners’ concerts.
  • Transfer to the Institute an exclusive, temporally and territorially unlimited right to grant permissions to exercise related copyrights on the works specified under b) above, in particular to dispose of and use adaptations of the works, including translations into foreign languages; the participant will also undertake not to take any action limiting this right in the future.
  • Authorise the Institute to execute his/her personal rights with respect to the works and artistic performances mentioned under a) and b) above, and undertake not to exercise his/her personal rights in a manner that will restrict the Institute in the exercise of its rights obtained in accordance with the provisions of this Paragraph.
  • Permit the Institute to use his/her artistic performances, interviews, statements and image, in full or in part, to make adaptations, abridged versions, alterations and translations, and declare that such use of them will not be deemed to damage his/her name; the participant will also grant leave to mark with his/her first and last name his/her artistic performances, statements, interviews and images specified under 1st and 2nd points above.

4. Jury & Laureates
Members of the Jury are renowned pianists and professors nominated by F. Chopin Institute in Switzerland. They are also members of the jury of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. National Chopin Institute in Poland and Mrs Martha Argerich have given their honorary patronage to the competition “Jeune Chopin”

  • The verdict of the Jury is final and and not subject to appeal.
  • In exceptional circumstances the Competition Director may sanction a Juror’s absence and appoint other outstanding Polish or foreign musician who enjoys international recognition as a member of the jury, assessing during the absence of said Juror.
  • The presentations will be awarded scores from 1 to 25.
  • Each participant who is granted 21 or more becomes a laureate.
  • The distribution of the awards is exclusive responsibility of the Jury.
  • Laureates of all the age categories are obliged to perform in the Laureates Concert as accompanying events without extra gratification
  • The Laureates Concert programmed is set by the Jury.

5. Other arrangements
No extra gratification will be granted to performers for publishing their contest recordings or photos on the radio, press and TV. Contest’s participants are obliged to comply with all the rules stated above, none of which can be appealed against. Additional information may be obtained from the Competition office at

Institut F. Chopin en Suisse
Grand Rue 22
1820 Montreux
Tél : +41 77 489 81 66
Email : contact@institutchopin.com

Parents declaration