The next KlavierOlymp will take place from 3rd to 6th October 2024.
Since 2003, the KlavierOlymp has offered a podium for young pianists in Bad Kissingen, Germany's most famous spa town. This year, for the 21st time, six outstanding young talents from six nations will present themselves to an expert jury and the interested public, who will award three prizes and an audience prize. In addition, performances are guaranteed as part of the Kissinger Sommer 2024.
The KlavierOlymp traditionally adds an autumnal encore to the Kissingen festival season on the first weekend in October. The competition was launched in 2003 and took place for the 21st time in 2023. The aim of the KlavierOlymp is to discover the next generation of pianists. Every year, six highly talented, promising young pianists aged 27 and under are invited to Bad Kissingen to perform a solo recital of their choice in the magnificent Rossini Hall - named after the Italian composer who was treated there in 1856 - and a joint final concert in the Max Littmann Hall, one of the best concert halls in the world. The participants have all already won competitions at home and abroad and are at the beginning of a promising career.
Three prizes are awarded by a jury of experts and one audience prize is awarded by the audience who have attended all the concerts. The successful participants in the competition can then be seen in the following year's Kissinger Sommer programme and are also supported on their career path through cooperation with other organisers and the arrangement of further performances. Names such as Behzod Abduraimov, Kit Armstrong, Kirill Gerstein, Martin Helmchen, Igor Levit, Alice Sara Ott, Herbert Schuch and Anna Vinnitskaja, who are among the former prizewinners and are now captivating audiences on stages around the world, are impressive proof that the stars of tomorrow can always be discovered here.
In October 2023, pianists from five countries competed in the Kissinger KlavierOlymp: Martina Consonni (Italy), Mihály Berecz (Hungary), Miyu Shindo (Japan), Anton Mejias (Finland/Cuba) and Mirabelle Kajenjeri (France). Mihály Berecz won 1st prize, Mirabelle Kajenjeri 2nd prize and Miyu Shindo 3rd prize. The audience award went to Miyu Shindo.
The five-member jury currently consists of Thomas Ahnert (music critic "Saale-Zeitung", dramaturge and co-founder of KlavierOlymp), Manuel Brug (music critic "Die Welt"), Ulrich Hauschild (cultural manager), Sonia Simmenauer (managing director of Impresariat Simmenauer) and Alexander Steinbeis (director of Kissinger Sommer). The Piano Olympics is sponsored by the town of Bad Kissingen and co-financed by members of the Kissinger Sommer's sponsors' association. The competition is supported by the Grandhotel Kaiserhof Victoria and sponsored by the district of Lower Franconia. The next KlavierOlymp will take place from 3 to 6 October 2024.
