Competition rules 2025

The New York Franz Liszt International Piano Competition

Celebrating the Heritage of Franz Liszt and Nurturing Young Talents

We invite pianists of all ages to compete in a single category for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $25,000.

Application Opens: January 30, 2025
Application Deadline: May 15, 2025 (23:59 EST)
Application Fee: $200 (USD), non-refundable

Competition Format & Repertoire

Video Round: 

The competition’s preliminary round will be held entirely online in 2025. All contestants must submit a 30-minute pre-recorded video, recorded from a single angle from the right side of the keyboard. The video can include multiple recordings for different pieces, but no edits should be made to the individual pieces themselves. We do not accept multi-camera recordings.

Repertoire Requirements: The solo round allows for a free program, but one piece must be by Franz Liszt.

Live Selection Rounds:

From the videos submissions, the jury selects 12 pianists to compete in the Live Selection Rounds for each locations. Applicants may select their preferred location for the live selection rounds when they submit their videos from the following options:

Americas - New York City - June 5 - TBC 
Europe - Budapest - May 25 - Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Asia (Excluding China) - Jakarta - August 16 - JI Expo Theatre
Middle East - Adu Dhabi - September 13
China - Shenzhen - TBC

If an applicant doesn't select location for the live round, the live audition location is decided by the participant's origin according to above.

Each live selection location will advance 3 pianists to the New York semi-final, which will take place on October 1-2, 2025 at DiMenna Center in New York City.

Semi-Final & Final Round:

In both the live selection rounds and the New York semi-final, advancing competitors will perform a 30-minute solo repertoire, with a similar repertoire to the original video and pre selection rounds.

The four finalists will be selected to perform with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at the Grand Final on October 3, 2025, at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall.

Concerto Repertoire for the Final:
Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major

Prizes & Opportunities

$25,000 Grand Prize

Webcast of the Grand Final

Additional prizes to finalists may include: Performance opportunities in the United States, Hungary, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore Scholarships to prestigious masterclasses and summer academies Opportunities to work with leading professors in the piano world.

Additional Information

Jury Selection & Event Modifications: The competition reserves the right to adjust the jury and make changes to the event format as needed, in response to changing regulations or unforeseen circumstances. We present at least one juror from the sNew York rounds to all qualifiers, and we add local jurors to all five qualifiers. Local Jury includes Dr. Balazs Fulei (Budapest), Benjamin Loh (Jakarta), Zhou Yun Chow (China), Alfred Sugiri (Jakarta) among others.

Event Postponement: We also reserve the right to postpone the event if necessary. 

Our mission is to celebrate the legacy of Franz Liszt while providing young pianists with an invaluable opportunity to showcase their talent on the world stage, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall. We look forward to receiving your application and wish all contestants the best of luck!