The José Iturbi Competition is an international piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 competition named after the famed Spanish virtuoso

Virtuoso

A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...

 José Iturbi

José Iturbi

José Iturbi was a Spanish conductor, harpsichordist and pianist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, Thousands Cheer and in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh...

, who later became a famous Hollywood actor. Created in 1981, it has been held ever since in the month of September and is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions

World Federation of International Music Competitions

The World Federation of International Music Competitions is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classical music through public competition...

. Since 1984, it has taken place every two years at either the "Palau de la Musica" theatre or the "Teatro Principal" in Valencia, Spain, birthplace of José Iturbi

José Iturbi

José Iturbi was a Spanish conductor, harpsichordist and pianist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, Thousands Cheer and in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh...

. The competition consists of five rounds: 1st preliminaries, 2nd preliminaries, semi-finals, 1st finals

Finals

Finals may refer to:* Final , the final stages of a sporting competition* Final examinations, tests given to students at the end of a course of study or training.* Finals , a four-issue comic book mini-series....

 (a classical concerto played with orchestra) and 2nd finals

Finals

Finals may refer to:* Final , the final stages of a sporting competition* Final examinations, tests given to students at the end of a course of study or training.* Finals , a four-issue comic book mini-series....

 (a romantic concerto played with orchestra). The prize has always included a cash award, recital and orchestral engagements, and a recording contract. On two occasions, 1982 and 1992, a First Prize was not awarded.

Participation

Participants are of all nationalities and are, as of the current eligibility requirements, 17-32 years of age.

Winners

Grand Winners

Year	1st prize	2nd prize	3rd prize
1981	Elza Kolodin Elza Kolodin Elza Kolodin is a pianist from Poland. She studied in Kraków, Warsaw and Paris.She has gained much acclaim from the international press,who have described her "rapturous playing" as being distinguished by "brilliant virtuosity" and a very "personal mixture of electrifying energy and profound...	Edson Elias Edson Elias Edson Elias was a Brazilian pianist.He centered his career in France since he was appointed professor of the Paris' Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in 1983 while remaining attached to his homeland's musical life, his 1987 integral of Maurice Ravel's piano œuvre both in São Paulo and Rio de...	Hüseyin Sermet Hüseyin Sermet Hüseyin Sermet is a Turkish pianist and composer. He is a Doctor Honoris Causa by the Boğaziçi and Marmara universities, and was named a State Artist in 1991. He is Co-President of ADAP , based in Paris.-External links:* * www.adapinternational.org...
1982	Not awarded	Not awarded	Michel Gal
1983	Patrick O'Byrne Patrick O'Byrne Patrick O'Byrne is a New Zealander pianist of Irish descent.-Life:Born in Dublin, raised in New Zealand. Pianistic studies at Auckland University with Janetta McStay, then in Europe as a Scholar of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand and the DAAD. Teachers included Kendall Taylor...	Youri Pochtar	Mary Kathleen Ernst
1984	Christian Beldi Christian Beldi Christian Beldi is a Romanian pianist. He is a professor at the Robert Schumann Music College in Düsseldorf.-References:* Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf...	Not awarded	Not awarded
1986	Rowena Arrieta Rowena Sánchez Arrieta María Rowena Sánchez Arrieta is a Filipina pianist, born in 1962.She was awarded the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition's 5th prize, and subsequently won the 1986 José Iturbi Competition....	Emiko Kumagai	Yumiko Urabe
1988	Igor Kamenz	Brenno Ambrosini Brenno Ambrosini Brenno Ambrosini is an Italian pianist, born in Venetia, who is active in Spain. In 1990 he began performing with Mark Lubotsky. After being prized in the leading Spanish piano competitions he developed a pedagogical career and became involved in the Spanish contemporary music scene...	Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz is a classical pianist from the Philippines. He has won several international piano competitions during his competing career and he is in the forefront in a revival of classical music interest in the country.-Biography:...
1990	Aleksey Orlovetsky Aleksey Orlovetsky Aleksey Orlovetsky is a Russian pianist.He was trained at the Leningrad Conservatory under Grigory Sokolov, and was subsequently his assistant. In 1989-90 Orlovetsky won the VII José Iturbi Competition and was second to Enrico Pace at the II Liszt Competition in Utrecht...	?	?
1992	Not awarded	?	Mariana Gurkova Mariana Gurkova Mariana Dimitrova Gurkova-Franco is a Bulgarian pianist, born in Sofia. Gurkova, who nowadays is a naturalised Spanish citizen, settled in Madrid in 1988. A former head professor at Badajoz's Conservatory, she is a teacher at Madrid's Real Conservatorio Superior.- References :* ], May 3, 1999]* -...
1994	Miri Yampolsky Miri Yampolsky Israeli pianist Miri Yampolsky made her orchestral debut as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and maestro Zubin Mehta at the age of 16, playing Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.1...	Mauricio Vallina Mauricio Vallina Mauricio Vallina is a Cuban pianist living in Brussels. He has been a top prize-winner of national and international piano competitions...	Atsuko Seki Atsuko Seki Atsuko Seki is a Japanese pianist.Seki won, ex-aequo with Hideyo Harada, the IV Schubert Competition , and was awarded the IX José Iturbi Competition 's 3rd prize. She has recorded three CDs.-References:* * *...
1996	Uta Weyand Uta Weyand Uta Weyand is a German pianist, born in Reutlingen. Weyand, who started her concert career in 1989, is currently active in Germany and Spain, where she settled after winning the 1996 José Iturbi competition. A former professor at Castellón's Conservatory, she currently teaches at the Madrid Royal...	Jenny Lin Jenny Lin - Life :Born in Taiwan, Jenny Lin began her piano studies at the age of 4. At age 10, she was accepted into the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria, in the studio of Noel Flores. At age 14, she immigrated to the United States, studying with Julian Martin at the Peabody Conservatory in...	Jung-Eun Kim
1998	Duncan Gifford Duncan Gifford Duncan George Gifford is an Australian-born award-winning concert pianist and teacher. He has been a professor of piano at the Conservatory of Palma in Majorca since 2006. Musica Viva describes him as a "major artist of his generation"...	-	-
2000	Roman Zaslavsky	Ángel Sanzo Ángel Sanzo Ángel Damián Sanzo Herrera is a Spanish pianist. He teaches at Badajoz's Conservatory.-Awards:-References:* * - External links :****...	Sheila Arnold
2002	Maria Zisi	Severin von Eckardstein Severin von Eckardstein Severin Von Eckardstein is a German classical pianist. He was born in 1978 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and took his first piano lessons when he was six years old....   Maria Stembolskaya (ex-a. Ex aequo et bono Ex aequo et bono is a phrase derived from Latin that is used as a legal term of art... )	Not awarded
2004	Alexandre Moutouzkine Alexandre Moutouzkine Alexandre Moutouzkine is a Russian pianist. He is active through Europe and the USA.Alexandre Moutouzkine burst onto the U.S...	Jean-Frédéric Neuburger	Ingmar Schwindt
2006 XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition The XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition took place in Valencia, from September 14th to the 30th, 2006. The competition is held every two years and is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions...	Josu de Solaun Soto Josu De Solaun Soto Josu De Solaun is a Spanish classical music pianist and winner of both the First Prize at the I European Union Piano Competition held in Prague, and the First Grand Prize at the XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition. He is the first pianist from Spain to have ever been awarded the coveted...	Valentina Igoshina Valentina Igoshina Valentina Igoshina is a Russian classical pianist.-Biography:Valentina Igoshina began studying piano with her mother, and first took lessons at home at the age of four...	Andrei Yaroshinsky
2008 XVI José Iturbi International Piano Competition The XVI José Iturbi International Piano Competition took take place in Valencia from September 15–27, 2008. It was won by Zhengyu Chen, who became the first Chinese pianist to attain the 1st prize.-Jury:** Joaquín Soriano ...	Zhengyu Chen	Soyeon Kim	Marianna Prjevalskaya Marianna Prjevalskaya Marianna Prjevalskaya is a Russian pianist and a naturalised Spanish citizen, having settled in A Coruña in 1992. She was awarded the 2008 José Iturbi Competition's 3rd prize.-References:* Yale University* Toradze Piano Studio...
2010 2010 José Iturbi International Piano Competition The XVII José Iturbi International Piano Competition took place in Valencia from September 13 - 26, 2011. It was won by Russian pianist Andrey Yaroshinsky, who had been awarded the 2nd prize in 2006...	Andrei Yaroshinsky	Arta Arnicane	Aleksey Lebedev