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 members of the jury are chosen and nominated by the artistic director for their international renown in the world of piano and contemporary music.
For the First round of the Competition around the world (in Chicago, Frankfurt and Shanghai), the jury will be composed of Aline Piboule and Lorenzo Soulès, two previous laureates of the Orléans Competition.
The final selection for the first round will be made by Aline Piboule and Lorenzo Soulès after the rounds in the 3 cities mentioned above.
For the Second phase of the Competition in Orléans in October 2026, the artistic director will invite a different jury.
The composition of the jury for the André Chevillion – Yvonne Bonnaud Composition Prize will be different from that for the Piano Competition.
The jury’s decisions are final.
It is made up of one round open to the public.
As each edition, a mandatory piano piece is commissioned to a worldwide renowned composer in order to enrich the contemporary repertoire.
Every two years
FIRST ROUND
– CHICAGO, USA: March 28-29, 2026 / Roosevelt University — Rudolph Ganz Memorial Hall.
– FRANKFURT , Germany: April 11-12, 2026 / Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main — Kleiner Saal.
– SHANGHAI, China: May 16-17, 2026 / Shanghai Conservatory of Music — He Luting Concert Hall
May 25, 2026 JURY DELIBERATION and ANNOUNCEMENT OF SELECTED CANDIDATES
ORLEANS:
SECOND ROUND: October 27 – October 28, 2026.
SEMI-FINAL RECITAL: October 29, 2026.
FINAL: October 31, 2026.
PARIS:
WINNERS’ CONCERT: November 2, 2026.
2025
November 26, 2025 – Application deadline.
December 16, 2025 – Notification of candidates selected for the competition.
2026
January 12, 2026 – Deadline for programme modification.
Mid January – Online DRAW (to determine the running order of the candidates)
The preselection of the candidates for the Competition will be done by sending:
– The complete registration file (deadline: February 4th , 2025 included).
– A recent recording (less than 6 months old) without any audio or video editing, of a good quality video of two short pieces, among which one piece composed after 1900 and one composed after 1970..
Total duration of the video:
2 to 3 minutes for the Beginner level
3 to 5 minutes for the Intermediate level
5 to 8 minutes for the Advanced level.
– The two pieces can be recorded separetly and edited one after the other in a single file.
– For help on how to film this video, applicants are advised to watch the videos of the International piano competition of Orléans for youth Brin d’herbe 2019 on our YouTube channel: Concours international de piano d’Orléans.
– Only Youtube links and MP4 files (sent by email/Wetransfer) are accepted.
Please contact the competition if you require further technical information. Upon receipt of the applications, the complete files will be submitted to the Jury of preselection who will view the videos and preselect a maximum of 24 candidates, spread over the 3 levels of the Competition.
Every candidate will be notified by email from February 24th, 2025.
1. The competition presents three levels and is open on pre-selection to the pianists born from January 1st, 2007.
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. The piece commissioned to Miharu Ogura is compulsory.
5. Prizes as well as the Special Prize will be awarded by the jury.
6. 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.
7. Playing by heart is not compulsory.
8. 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 24th , 2025.
More information here
The deadline for applications is November 26, 2025 included (until 23.59pm French time). Upon receipt of the applications, only the complete files will be examined and submitted to the Pre-selection Jury who will also view the videos and pre-select the candidates.
The Artistic Direction and the pre-selection jury will announce the list of pianists admitted to the 17th Competition. Each candidate will receive a notice of admission or rejection by email from 16 December 2025.
Applications should be submitted on the Competition website www.oci-piano.com or via email (info@oci-piano.fr) and must include the following documents (preferably in Word or PDF format):
The registration fee is €100 and this is non-refundable.
The competition is categorized into three age groups:
Pieces for prepared piano and with electroacoustic devices are allowed. All styles are welcomed, and it is possible to present extracts of the pieces.
The score of Miharu Ogura’s compulsory piece will be available to view online by the end of November at the latest and sent as a pdf file to the candidates selected for the competition.
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 (until 10 years old): between 8 and 12 minutes
• The mandatory piece of Miharu Ogura (beginner level) (2’30 / 3’00)
• A piece by György Kurtág chosen among the volumes 1, 2, 3 of Játékok
• The rest of the program 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 – see p.13)
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (until 16 years old): between 16 and 20 minutes
• The mandatory piece of Miharu Ogura (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 21st centuries’ repertoire
• The Special Prize – which is optional – can be included in the programme. (Improvisation & Composition Prize – see p.13)
ADVANCED LEVEL (until 18 years old): between 22 and 25 minutes
• The mandatory piece of Miharu Ogura (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 – see p.13)
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.
www.oci-piano.com/
