Rules of procedure and organization for an International Schubert competition
I. Conditions of participation in 2013
The competition is declared in two categories:
1st Category: maximum age limit is 21 years for each of participants,
(reached by 31 December 2013).
2nd Category: maximum age limit of the total age of both participants is 70 years;
the age of the competitors will be calculated as of 31 December 2013.
The competition in the 1st category includes one round, in the 2nd category there are three rounds.
1.Only original compositions for four hands or two pianos, eventually their authorized versions, can be played at the competition. The jury has the right to require music record for less known compositions from the contestants before having a competitive round.
2.Playing by memory is not obliged. A person for flipping sheets of music is not allowed. The position of pianos cannot be changed.
3.The awards, Special awards (Alois Složil award for the best rendition of Franz Schubert´s composition and Vlastimil Lejsek award for the best performance of czech contemporary composition) and honourable mentions are decided by the international jury. The decision of the jury is ultimate.
4.The winners will be announced and awarded at the final ceremonial prizewinners´ concert in Jeseník 16 April 2013.
5.Chosen participants – prizewinners will be offered a possibility to give a concert in the Czech Republic.
6.
Deadline for registration is 28 February 2013. The enrolment fee for the piano
duo in 1st category is €130, in 2nd category € 260. The enrolment fee
for the piano duo from the Czech Republic in 1st category is 3,000 CZK,
in 2nd category it is 6,000 CZK.
The enrolment fee must be paid at the same time as sending the application form,
via bank transfer to the account of Municipal Cultural Amenities (MKZ) Jeseník,
in ČSOB bank, with the branch office in Jeseník, account number 151567354,
bank code 0300. The evidence of payment must be submitted at presentation.
IBAN CZ 37 0300 0000 0001 5156 7354. Handling charges are covered by participants.
The whole amount mentioned above should be transferred to the account of MKZ!
7.The participants are advised to check if they need to have a visa in order to enter the Czech Republic. MKZ organizers will co-operate in obtaining visas, if necessary. Incurred charges will be covered by participants at the competition presentation (about 300 CZK / €15).
8.The total sum for awards is minimum 150,000 CZK.
9.All audio and video recordings made during the competition are reserved by organizers for the use of their need.
II. The course of the competition:
1. Before the first round of the competition starts, the drawing of sequence will be held. The candidates will be informed about the time and place of the drawing in time.
2. If a candidate fails to appear at the drawing in time, the sequence will be drawn on his behalf at the end of a particular category. If few candidates fail to appear, the sequence will be done by the alphabetical precedence, by the first name on the application form.
3. If the candidates (duet) do not appear for the performance at the set time due to serious reasons, they can only compete with an approval of the jury at the end of the first round only.
4. The candidates are obliged to appear at the competition building half an hour before scheduled time of their performance and report themselves to the organizer on duty (in the foyer, eventually in the concert hall)
5. Each candidate (duet) has granted appropriate time for preparation in the concert hall, in which the competition takes place, eventually in other assigned rooms. The candidates are obliged to enquire the time schedules with the organizers of the competition as soon as possible. If they do not do so, they have no rights for an alternate time of performance.
6. The position of the pianos, back to back, remain throughout the competition. Playing from memory is not an obligation. An extra person to turn the pages is not allowed.
III. Valuation of Candidates performance
1. The Valuation should be the expression of the Juries collective opinion. Each member of the Jury is obliged to express the judgment about each indididual performance by the point system, according to his best conscience and without being influenced. Based on the given points and achieved point average, the jury proceeds with the discussion about the individual performances and the order. It is the chairmans duty to provide the principles.
2. The members of the jury must not judge the participant of the competition if they
didn´t hear the performance in whole. In this case, they hand in a signed point card
with the reason stated (absence) and is not awarded any points.
3. Each candidate is valuated by the points: 0 – 25 points, in which 25 points means the best valuation. The members of the jury follow these markings during judging:
- 0 – 5 points unsatisfactory performance
- 6 – 10 points satisfactory performance
- 11 – 15 points good performance
- 16 – 20 points very good performance
- 21 – 25 excellent performance
Point division on half, tenth, etc is not allowed. Point cards, which are unreadable, do not contain the score or are not signed by the member of the jury are invalid and will not be considered when determining the result. Erasing of valuation points is not allowed, the point card will be considered as invalid. The members of the Jury can scrape over the points written by mistake, write correct points and sign this correct valuation with the note “correction“. This can only be done before handing the point card over. Correction made after the point card was handed in is not allowed.
4.The members of the Jury hand the point cards over to the secretary of the Competition after the last playback, within each jury meeting, that is before the break. If they are handed in later, they will be considered as invalid.
After each session (round) of the competition has finished, the secretary does the listing of points and computerizes the point averages, which serve as a ground for sequence setting and discussion. Points accomplished by the candidates in each rounds are added up. (see article 9)
5. To avoid conspicuous differences in valuation of the participants (duet) by an individual member of the Jury, no regard is taken of points of two members of the jury, the one with the least points and the one with the most points at the calculation of the average points. Those two valuations are automatically scraped over! Therefore, it is acceptable for the members of the jury to judge their pupils, students or duet.
6. In debatable cases, whereby the results of the point-based evaluations fail to provide a clear picture of the Juries opinion, the chairman can invite the respective members to assess the performance above or below limit. Alternatively, he can ask the members to determine the order during the prize award discussion, or initiate a separate discussion with eventual voting.
7. The methods and procedures of performance valuation, as stated in the article 1 to 6, are obligatory for all parts of the competition.
8. After the first round has finished, the Jury gathers for the meeting, where they decide on advancement to the second round. Duet candidates who have achieved at least 16 points can proceed to the second round, but only in the number, which the jury sets before the competition starts. The Jury decides on proceeding based on achieved average points. The candidates names (duet), who will proceed to the second round will be announced in alphabetical order by the first person of the duet.
9. After the competition performances of the second round (in II. Category, 3rd round) have finished, the final discussion about definitive sequence is held, based on the results of the point scores. According to this sequence, the best candidates (duets) will be awarded prizes. The jury decides on prize giving (certificate of merit and others, eventually gifts, etc) by the simple majority of votes, eccept the first prize (see an article 10)
10. The Jury doesn´t have to give all the prizes away, eventually, if performances do not meet required standards, the jury is entitled to not give away any prizes. The Jury have the right to merge some of the prizes or divide them equally, except the first prize. The first prize could only be divided with an approval from all the members of the Jury! Candidates (duet/duets) who passed the first round with the number of points exceeding the given limit, but can´t proceed to the second round due to the set limits, can be awarded with the special prize without further rewards. Decision of the Jury is final.
11. All awarded competitors will receive their prizes or special awards, at the laureate concert, including diplomas containing their names and the type of award received.
12. Other obligations and rights for the winners are included in the organization instructions issued by the organizing committee of this interpretative piano duet competition..
20th of March 2011, in Jeseník
For the relevance of the record: Miroslav Hrdlička
director