LPC Rules

Rules

Livornoclassica Music Association announces the 10th Edition of Livorno Piano Competition.
The competition will take place in Livorno in Teatro "Carlo Goldoni", Goldonetta hall from Wednesday, September 23rd to Sunday September 27th 2026.
Livorno Piano Competition consists of a Preliminary Round based on the invoice of a video together with the application and three rounds in Livorno in front of the Jury.

Livornoclassica reserves the right to make changes or additions to the rulement or cancel the Competition due to force majeure. Only in this case Livornoclassica will entirely refund the application fees.
Audience is allowed at all stages of the competition.

Eligibility

Livorno Piano Competition is opened to pianists of all nationalities up to 32 years old; they must still be under 33 at the beginning of the competition (July 1th, 2026).
Candidates who have family relationship or have had continuous teaching relationships with one or more jury members will not be admitted to the Competition. Occasional participation at masterclass will not be cause of exclusion.

Calendar

- Preliminary Round: link to a video together with the application. Deadline: July 1, 2026.

- By July 25 candidates will be notified by email about the results of the Preliminary Round.

- Before the end of July, the result of extracting the letter from which the auditions will begin (in alphabetic order) will be published on the competition website and on the Facebook and Instagram pages.

- Changes in the musical program will be accepted until August 10.

- First Round, Semifinal Round and Final Round in presence in Livorno. Goldonetta hall inside Goldoni Theater, from Wednesday, September 23 in the morning to the afternoon of Saturday 26.
After the voting procedures, on September 26 the names of prizewinners will be announced.

- For contestants who will be scheduled to perform on September 23, the check-in procedures and rehearsal on the competition Concert Grand Piano will take place during the afternoon of September 22.

- Prizewinners will be required to perform (on pain of loss of the prize) during the Award Ceremony and gala Concert on Sunday, September 27.

Notifications

Each contestant will be informed by email about the application process, admission, rehearsal and audition schedule; absence at check-in without any justified reason will determine the exclusion from the competition.
Rooms with pianos to practice during the competition will be provided.

Travel and accomodation

Travel and accommodation expenses are borne by the competitors. Facilities and agreements with hotels, B&B, private apartments will be made known by email from the Segreteria of LPC.

Musical program

Preliminary Round - online

videos lasting between 15 and 20 minutes

Contestants will send a link to a video on You Tube or other platforms (either public or private videos are accepted); a fixed shooting angle and clear visibility of face and hands are required. The performed pieces can either be all in the same recording session or recorded separately; there must not be any cut inside a single piece or movement.

Multi camera videos are accepted only if they contain a professional recording made during piano competitions by the organization (specify the name of the competition).

The video will feature:
1) First movement of a Sonata by Beethoven, Clementi, Haydn or Mozart
2) One etude
3) Repertoire at contestant’s choice. Other movements of the same sonata as 1) are accepted as well as movements from other sonatas or suites.

Any piece from the Preliminary round program can be repeated, at contestant’s choice, during the Competition in Livorno.

FIRST ROUND

maximum duration 18 minutes

program of free contestant choice
Only exception will be made in case of a first round consisting of a single piece, in any case not longer than 20 minutes.
A maximum number of 10 contestants will be admitted to the Semifinal round

SEMIFINAL ROUND

maximum duration 40 minutes

A Sonata chosen from the works of Beethoven, Clementi, Haydn or Mozart must be included. The rest of the program is at free choice.*
Only exception regarding the total time can be made in case of Beethoven’s op.106.
A maximum number of 5 contestants will be admitted to the Final round.

FINAL ROUND

maximum duration 45 minutes

free contestant’s choice*

Jury and voting system

The jury’s decision is irrevocable. The jury reserves the right to stop the performance in case the time limit be exceeded.
After First and Second Round the selection will be made according to the number of YES achieved by each contestant.
After the Finals the decision will be made upon a system based upon marks.
In the final judge the Jury will keep into consideration all three rounds.
After the end of the Competition the results with the choices made by each juror will be displayed on Livorno Piano Competition’s website.

Application and participation

Applications will be accepted starting from Friday, May 15th until Wednesday, July 1st, 2026 at 24:00 italian hour.
The application form, downloadable in the “Application” section of this website, must be filled and sent by email at segreteria@livornopianocompetition.com together with all the required documents and the link to the video for the Preliminary Round. Please specify in the “object” field of the email: “application at Livorno Piano Competition 2026”.
The receipt of payment of 110 euros, net of bank expenses, must be attached to the email as “contribution for application to Livorno Piano Competition”.
Registration implies unconditional compliance with every part of the rules.

PRIZES

FIRST PRIZE

euro 6.000,00*
- First Prize Diploma and Plate
(4.000,00 euros will be payed within 90 days from the end of the competition, the remaining 2.000,00 to be payed after the recitals in Toscana)
- Concert tour in Toscana coordinated by Livornoclassica, for Museo Piaggio Pontedera, Livornoclassica and others to be specified later. The winner will receive from Livornoclassica the last part of the prize (2000 euros) and will be offered accomodation during the tour
- Recitals offered by Yamaha, Mediterranean Music Association in Trapani, Fondazione La Società dei Concerti di Milano in one of its seasons and possibly other institutions. For what concerns these recitals, agreements concerning fees / reimboursement of expenses will be taken directly between the winner and the Institutions
- Premio “ARTE”, offered by Galleria d’Arte Athena, consisting in a work of art made by an artist represented by the art Gallery

SECOND PRIZE

euro 3.000,00*
- Second Prize Diploma
(2.000,00 euros will be payed within 30 days from the end of the competition, the remaining 1.000,00 to be payed after the recital in Livorno)

THIRD PRIZE

euro 1.500,00*
- Third Prize Diploma

Special Awards

"Antonio Bacchelli" Special award

euro 500,00*
Awarded by the Jury to a finalist for the best interpretation of repertoire of XX or XXI century performed during the competition.

Young Jury Special award

euro 200,00*
awarded to a finalist by a panel of students

* Money prizes will be awarded gross of the withholding tax.

Finalists

Finalists who will not receive a prize will receive up to 200 euros of expenses reimbursement, upon presentation of receipts.

It is not possible to share the 1st prize.
A Finalist diploma will be awarded to non-prizewinner Finalists
A Semifinalist diploma will be awarded to semifinalists.

Privacy

Candidates with the inscription authorize LIVORNOCLASSICA, pursuant to art.97 of the Law on copyright, to make audio-video recordings of their performance and feature it on any digital platform (YouTube or others) and to publish photos in promotional material of the Association. In relation to this candidates cannot advance any right or financial request towards Livornoclassica.
According to art. 13 and 14 of GDPR (UE 2016/679 About Privacy) all data provided at registration will be used only to send communications related to the contest excluding any other use.
The organization accepts no liability in respect of any injury to persons and / or property during the course of the competition.