Rules of participation 2026

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1) Eligibility:

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Pianists of all nationalities and up to 35 years old (born after 31st August 1991) are invited to apply. Winners of the 1st Prize in past editions are not eligible to participate again.

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2) Dates of competition and place:

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Competition will take place in early September 2026 in Marbella (Málaga), Spain. Exact dates will be posted soon!

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3) Competition development and repertoire:

 

All participants wishing to apply are asked to send the filled-in Application Form Online. Free repertoire to be chosen according to the requirements detailed below. The Artistic Direction will review the Forms and attached documents and send a confirmation of acceptance to the applicant. Three rounds will decide the winners of the competition: an Eliminatory Round, a Semifinal Round and a Final Round. A live deliberation of the jury for each competitor and competition round will take place. The jury will evaluate the performances of the following repertoire:

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-First Round: Free choice solo repertoire including obligatory at least one complete original barroque piece (composers born between 1580 and 1729, transcriptions are not admitted). Max. duration 15 minutes, including pauses between pieces.

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-Semifinal Round: Free choice solo repertoire to include a complete Sonata from the classical period (composers born between 1730 and 1799). Max. duration: 30 minutes, including pauses between pieces.

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-Final Round: Free choice solo repertoire to include at least one complete romantic piece (composers born between 1800 and 1859). Max. duration 35 minutes, including pauses between pieces.

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All pieces must be performed by memory. No prepared-piano pieces will be accepted. It is not allowed to repeat any piece throughout the competition. Separated movements of Sonatas will not be accepted. All pieces must be published and free of performing rights.

 

 

4) Prizes:

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We are working on increasing the prizes for this edition 2026. Prizes 2026 will be posted here soon!

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Main Prizes:

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1st Prize: 3.000 EURO "Premio Ciudad de Marbella"

-Offered by the Townhall of Marbella.

-Medal/trophy, diploma.

-Invitation to a public recital.

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2nd Prize: 1.500 EURO "Premio Ramón Coll"

-Offered by the Davidov Music Association.

-Medal/plaque, diploma.

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3rd Prize: 750 EURO "Premio Delia Steinberg"

-Offered by the Davidov Music Association.

-Medal/plaque, diploma.

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Special Prizes:

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a) Special prize-scholarship: will be offered to one of the finalists to attend the Piano Masterclasses 2027 with Prof. Michael Davidov. Offered by the Davidov Music Association.

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b) Audience Prize: given to the most voted finalist. Conmemorative plaque.

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c) "Young Jury" Special Prize, given to one of the Finalists by the students of the Marbella State School for Music and Dance.

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5) Jury:

 

International pianists will be invited to join the Jury 2026. Names of jurors will be published before the start of the competition.

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6) Voting procedure:

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Votes + Live streamed deliberation system.

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Each Jury member will select the candidates to advance to the next round through "PASS" / "NO" / "UNDECIDED" votes in the Eliminatory and Semifinal Rounds ("1st Prize" / "2nd Prize" / "3rd Prize" / "No Prize" in the Final Round) and accompany those votes with a mark. Once the administration has counted all the votes, each candidate will receive a sum of points and the jury deliberation will start.

The sum of points of each candidate will be published during the deliberation but the individual marks given by each juror will be kept secret until the end of the competition.

In the deliberation, the jury will discuss the results and decide which candidates should pass to the next Round or obtain a prize in the Final Round. The number of participants admitted to the Semifinal Round is not fixed. The THREE top ranked competitors after the Semifinal Round will be admitted to the Final Round.

In a case of a tie in any Round, the Jury will vote different options to clear it. 

In a hypotetical case, when a student of a Jury member is taking part in the competition: the vote of this juror to his student(s) will not be taken into account, instead, a middle score from all other jurors' votes will be drawn for this participant.

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7) Application procedure:

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In order to apply to the competition, applicants must follow the indicated steps below, submiting all the required documents before August 1st 2026 to: marbellaintmusfest@gmail.com

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1. Fill up the 2026 Competition Application Form online.

2. Send us an e-mail attaching a copy of your birth certificate or ID Card or Passport. Include also a biography listing musical education, awards, performances, etc.

3. Payment of the application fee of 100 EURO. Bank details will be provided after receiving the 2026 Competition Application Form.

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9) General considerations:

 

a) The jury members, excempting the Artistic Director, will not receive information regarding names, ages, nationalities, biographies or teacher's names of any of the competitors.

 

b) The decisions of the Jury are indisputable.

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c) Any legal action is excluded.

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d) The Application Fee cannot be refunded under any circumstances.

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e) All bank commissions must be paid by the applicant.

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f) Applications after the deadline may be considered only if there are free places in the competition.

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g) The selected repertoire should demonstrate competitor's musical and pianistic abilities. Aesthetical, formal and stylistic understanding of the pieces will be considered together with technical-mechanical control of the instrument.

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h) Changes in the repertoire will be accepted until 15th August 2026. Any further changes will need to be approved by the Artistic Director.

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i) Prizes might be devided or be declared not given.

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j) All multimedia material received from the competitors, such as video recordings of any competition rounds, pictures, etc., may be used exclusively by Davidov Music Association with advertisement purposes.

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k) Davidov Music Association will not take any responsibility in case of any physical or psicological health issue or any other accident that may happen to the participant during his/her participation in any of the events linked to the Festival.

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l) By sending your documents you declare that you understand and accept these Rules.

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m) These Rules are valid from the moment of posting them on the website or on our official social media channels.

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n) Any change or incorporated new rules will be officially communicated by Davidov Music Association.

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o) It is mandatory for the Finalists to perform at the Winners Concert in order to receive the prize money and the diploma.

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p) In case of any dispute regarding the interpretation of these Rules, the English version will be the official one.