As I mentioned in February, 2010 marks the two hundredth anniversary of Frédéric Chopin's birth. To celebrate the occasion, Kemble has announced a Chopin 'E-Competition' for amateur pianists. Uniquely, it will rely on twenty-first century technology to select the winner: instead of the usual audio recording, applicants must submit their entries via a dedicated YouTube channel! Non-professional pianists over the age of eighteen can perform any of Chopin's solo piano works, and have until August 1st to enter.

Members of the public will determine the shortlist via an online vote, before a panel of judges decide the overall winner. They include Brian Kemble (the grandson of Kemble's founder), Christopher Elton (Head of Keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music), Kevin Kenner (an internationally acclaimed Chopin specialist) and John Evans (Editor of Classic FM Magazine). The winner will be presented with a Kemble Chopin Piano worth over eight thousand pounds, and receive a private piano lesson with Kevin Kenner.

The competition reminds me of last year's YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which saw thousands of musicians from around the world submit audition videos to win a place in the website's online collaborative orchestra. It's certainly a great showcase for amateur pianists to display their skills and promote their instrument, and for 'lapsed' players to dust off their sheet music and polish up their scales! I will be encouraging some of my own students to take part, and should you wish to join them you can enter online here.

UPDATE:

The Chopin Project has released an iPhone App featuring twenty exclusive new recordings from their Listening Library. It is the only app in the world dedicated to streaming performances of Chopin's piano music. More than fifty recordings are already included and another thirty are in production, covering everything from lesser-known and rarely-performed repertoire (including songs) to old favourites. Fortunately, with so much to choose from, listeners can search playlists by genre, key and date of composition!