The International piano competition of Orléans for youth “Brin d’herbe” encourages young pianists to explore contemporary and modern music from an early age.
The Competition “Brin d’herbe” is organised every two years, alternating with the International piano competition of Orléans. Created in 2004, the contest, unique event in the field of music creation, welcomes young candidates and gathers a jury formed of personalities from all around the world, fully qualified in teaching the contemporary repertoire.
Promoting and disseminating the contemporary repertoire to these young people and to the audience is an objective that adds to the idea of building a new pedagogy around this repertoire. The work commissioned to a composer, every two year, demonstrates our strong desire to build a pedagogical repertoire for the contemporary piano, while following the pioneer idea of the “Games” Játékok, developed by the major Hungarian composer György Kurtág.
Orléans Concours International
The 12th edition of the International competition of Orléans for youth “Brin d’herbe” will take place at the “Salle de l’Institut”, in April 2027.
The competition will bring together international young pianists around the repertoire from 1900 to the present day. A collection of piano pieces will be presented.
The Jury will include the pianists Svetlana Andreeva, Riccardo Bisatti, Anaël Bonnet and will award Prizes to the laureates, on the three levels of competition.
Every two years
Dates of the Competition
From April 22 to 25, 2027.
Salle de l’Institut, Orléans
April 22, 23, 24 (afternoon):
– Round of the Competition.
The young candidates from the 3 levels will play their programme in front of the Jury.
April 25
– 3.00pm: Final concert followed by the Award ceremony.
2 February, 2027
1. The competition presents three levels and is open on pre-selection to the pianists born from January 1st, 2009.
2. Programmes must cover the piano repertoire from 1900 to today.
3. Each candidate presents his or her programme during one single round. The candidates of the 3 levels will be spread over the 3 days of the competition.
4. The Special Prize is optional.
5. It will be compulsory for all levels to choose one or more pieces from the ‘Piano Divertimento Project’ list. (Commission from the Divertimento Ensemble)
6. The three levels of the competition are not linked to the candidates’ ages. During the pre-selection phase, however, the jury will ensure that the chosen level is consistent with and reflects the candidate’s actual ability. (For example, a candidate who is clearly at an advanced level will not be permitted to enter a lower category in order to gain an advantage during the selection process).
7. Prizes as well as the Special Prize will be awarded by the jury.
8. The jury’s decisions will be based on the excellence of the interpretation, as well as on the choice and originality of the programme. All jury decisions are final and will not be discussed.
9. Playing by heart is not compulsory.
10. After a preselection on file and video, each applicant will receive an answer by email and in case of acceptance, will receive a convocation letter from February 15th, 2027.
REGISTRATION UNTIL FEBRUARY 2ND , 2027 INCLUDED:
• online:
OR
• by email (info@oci-piano.fr) with the sending of the registration form and the complete file including:
– A copy of the applicant’s birth certificate or passport,
– The repertoire list, detailed and precisely timed with the names of the publishers of the selected works, sent by email in .doc format, according to the template available on Competition website
– A video composed of 2 short pieces (see pages 6-7) with a cover letter from your teacher
– One recent, good quality colour photo (for the Competition Programme), with the name of the candidate, sent by email (format: jpg/300 dpi)
– A document which confirms the payment of the registration fee
– The completed and signed parental consent
– The authorisation form for the use of the image reproduction right, signed
– The accommodation choice
Pieces for prepared piano and with electroacoustic devices are allowed. All styles are welcomed, and it is possible to present extracts of the pieces.
From November 2026, the list of ‘Piano Divertimento Project’ works will be available on Competition website, and the sheet music will be available to download free of charge from the Divertimento Ensemble website. The exact titles and running times of the works will be announced at that point.
PROGRAMMES CHOICE
We recommend the candidates to review :
– ‘10 ans avec le piano’ published by Cité de la musique, which provides pieces of the 20th century, organized by levels of difficulty,
– ‘Bonjour, Piano! – Pieces by French Composers in Progressive Order’ (Editions Durand).
– ‘Musica ficta’ by Gérard Pesson, Vol. 1 to Vol. 3 (Editions Lemoine).
Each publisher has its own catalog available upon request or online.
BEGINNER LEVEL*: between 8 and 12 minutes
• One piece from the ‘Piano Divertimento Project’ list (beginner level) (2’30 / 3’00)
• A piece by György Kurtág chosen among the volumes 1, 2, 3 of Játékok
• The rest of the programme is up to the candidate who can choose one or several pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries’ repertoire.
• The Special Prize – which is optional – can be included in the programme. (Improvisation & Composition Prize)
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL*: between 16 and 20 minutes
• Two pieces from the ‘Piano Divertimento Project’ list (intermediate level) (4’30 / 5’00)
• A piece by György Kurtág chosen among the volumes 3 and 5 of Játékok
• The rest of the programme is up to the candidate who can choose one or several pieces from the 20th and 21 st centuries’ repertoire
• The Special Prize – which is optional – can be included in the programme. (Improvisation & Composition Prize)
ADVANCED LEVEL*: between 22 and 25 minutes
• Three pieces from the ‘Piano Divertimento Project’ list (advanced level) (6’30 / 7’00)
• The rest of the programme is up to the candidate, who can choose one or several pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries’ repertoire, but must include at least one piece written after 1970
• The Special Prize – which is optional – can be included in the programme. (Improvisation & Composition Prize)
FINAL CONCERT & AWARD CEREMONY: April 25th, 2027
On April 25 th , 2027 at 3.00pm (Salle de l’Institut), all the candidates will present the best pieces of their programme during the final concert which will be followed by the Award ceremony.
Every candidates will receive a diploma of participation. The jury will award several Prizes for each level (ex-aequo prizes are possible).
Beginner Level:
First Prize: 300 euros
Second Prize: 200 euros
Third Prize: 100 euros
Intermediate level:
First Prize: 450 euros
Second Prize: 300 euros
Third Prize: 150 euros
Advanced level:
First Prize: 600 euros
Second Prize: 350 euros
Third Prize: 200 euros
One prize per level will be awarded to the best performance of the compulsory piece, commissioned by Orléans Concours International from the Japanese composer Miharu Ogura, amounting to a total of 400 euros. This prize is offered by ‘APEC’, the Orléans Conservatory Parents’ Association.
Beginner level: 100 euros
Intermediate level: 130 euros
Advanced level: 170 euros
EMCY Prize
Out of all the candidates, at all levels, one candidate will receive the EMCY Prize. The winner will be offered a professional profile with international visibility on the website: https://emcy.org/prize-winners/ with the opportunity of concerts (solo, with orchestra or chamber music), tours, workshops and master classes.
The competition presents also an optional Special Prize that candidates could include in their program:
• IMPROVISATION & COMPOSITION PRIZE: prize offered by the Rotary Club d’Orléans, amounting to a total of 300 euros and shared between the 3 levels. Improvisation can take place on a short musical theme, «in the manner of», on a chord grid, or in modal improvisation. The material used may be classical or refer to the vocabulary of Játékok (chords, clusters, glissandos, contrasts, sonorities, architecture) or to the usual material used by jazz pianists. It is also possible to present a composition that is written but not improvised.
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