Maj Lind Piano Competition will soon be here
The fifth International Maj Lind Piano Competition will take place in Helsinki during the schools’ holiday break 14–27 October 2022. The competition will be an exciting event for new and experienced piano music lovers. The first two rounds are an excellent introduction to the competition and the contestants, and the finals are charged with feverish excitement about the results. Who will conquer the audience’s hearts, and who will entrance the jury and be crowned the winner?
The fifth International Maj Lind Piano Competition will take place in Helsinki during the schools’ holiday break 14–27 October 2022. The competition will be an exciting event for new and experienced piano music lovers. The first two rounds are an excellent introduction to the competition and the contestants, and the finals are charged with feverish excitement about the results. Who will conquer the audience’s hearts, and who will entrance the jury and be crowned the winner?
The competition will open with the 30 contestants playing a wide selection of familiar works by composers ranging from Mozart to Beethoven and from Chopin to Rachmaninov. A jury of internationally acclaimed piano professionals will choose a maximum of 14 contestants to proceed to the second round, in which the young artists will play a work by Outi Tarkiainen commissioned for the competition or improvise on a theme given to them 20 minutes before the performance. In accordance with the competition rules, the contestants will also play Sibelius and pieces of their own choice.
The excitement will reach its climax when the keen-eared jury chooses the six finalists. The contestants successful in the exciting first two rounds will proceed to the chamber music finals, in which they will perform a piano quartet with either the Kamus or the Meta4 Quartet. The competition will culminate in orchestral finals at Musiikkitalo in which the best six contestants will perform a piano concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing.
The competition goes back a long way
The competition goes back a long way. It is named after its benefactress, Maria “Maj” Lind (née Kopjeff, 1876–1942), a keen amateur music lover. The first Maj Lind Competition in 1945 was a national one. It became international in 2002 and has been organised once every five years by the Sibelius Academy of Uniarts Helsinki. The International Maj Lind Piano Competition held in 2017 was won by US pianist Mackenzie Melemed.
In the competition, prizes totalling nearly €110,000 will be awarded. The finalists will also have an opportunity to play concerts with Finnish orchestras and perform at various festivals in Finland.
Come and support your favourite on the road to victory and enjoy the intoxicating competition atmosphere. Bring a friend or your family too!
Additional info and schedule
Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.fi/majlind
Information about the competition is available at www.majlindcompetition.fi
Competition schedule
Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu
Draw for the performance order (free entry)
Thursday 13 October, 11–11.30
First round
Friday 14 October Group 1, 10–12.45 / Group 2, 17–19.45
Saturday 15 October Group 3, 10–12.45 / Group 4, 17–19.45
Sunday 16 October Group 5, 10–12.45 / Group 6, 17–19.45
Monday 17 October Group 7, 10–12.45 / Group 8, 17–19.45
Tuesday 18 October Group 9, 10–12.45 / Group 10, 17–19.45
Second round
Thursday 20 October, Group 1, 10–13.30 / Group 2, 17–19.45
Friday 21 October, Group 3, 10–13.30 / Group 4, 17–19.45
Chamber music finals
Sunday 23 October, 16–19.30
Musiikkitalo
Orchestral finals
Wednesday 26 October, 19–21.30
Thursday 27 October, 19–21.30 + award ceremony
All concerts include an intermission. We reserve the right to adjust the schedule.