The 21st Leeds International Piano Competition will see 24 exceptionally talented young pianists from 13 countries will compete in The Leeds in September, both to in-person audiences in Leeds and Bradford as well as to broadcast audiences worldwide.

For the first time, global audiences can watch the entire Competition live on The Leeds Media Hub and YouTube channel. BBC’s Petroc Trelawny will present the broadcasts, which will also feature interviews with competitors, jury members and esteemed guests. From the Semi-Finals, Petroc will be joined by star pianist Alexandra Dariescu, making her broadcasting debut. Alexandra also has another connection to the Competition this year, with the inaugural Alexandra Dariescu Award for an outstanding performance of a work by a female composer.

The longstanding relationship between the BBC and the Competition – which goes back nearly sixty years – continues in 2024, with the BBC once again a valued broadcast partner. BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds listeners will be able to hear highlights of the semi-finals in Classical Live from Monday 16 September and in a special edition of Radio 3 in Concert on Friday 20 September. The Finals will be broadcast on Radio 3 In Concert on 21 September, presented by Andrew McGregor in conversation with acclaimed pianist and broadcaster Lucy Parham.

The 24 pianists will perform a 40-minute solo recital in the Great Hall of the University of Leeds – Principal Partner of the Competition – for the Second Round, in front of an audience and the international, artist-led jury chaired by pianist Dame Imogen Cooper; the other jurors include Adam Gatehouse, Eleanor Alberga, Ingrid Fliter, Mariam Batsashvili, Pavel Kolesnikov, Sa Chen, Till Fellner and Adrian Brendel. Ten pianists will be chosen to progress to the Semi-Finals, where they will perform both solo work and chamber music with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, with five then selected to join the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and their Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan for the Concerto Finals.

For the first time, the Finals of the competition will relocate outside the city due to renovations at the Leeds Town Hall. The host venue for the Finals will be the historic St George’s Hall in Bradford, known for its excellent ‘shoebox’ acoustic. This relocation coincides with Bradford’s status as the ‘UK City of Culture’ in 2025.

More information and tickets for the Second Rounds, Semi-Finals and Finals can be found on the Leeds International Piano Competition website.

pic by Nadim Maharjan