NORDIC V KOKKOLA LIED COMPETITION

dedicated to Pentti Koskimies
October 17th -21st 2007 

“The world is too full of noise. There is at the moment an artistic and social demand for chamber music.” Aulis Sallinen

Purpose of the Competition

The Nordic Kokkola Lied Competition is for duos consisting of a singer and a pianist. Its aim is to reveal the most promising young musicians and to award prizes to those of the highest chamber music standard. It is an opportunity for students to perform in a demanding Scandinavian arena.

The Competition seeks to draw special attention to Nordic vocal music and to cultural exchange in the Nordic region.

Organiser

The Competition is organised by the Patrons’ Association of the Pentti Koskimies Lied Competition r.s. together with the Central Ostrobothia Conservatory and the Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Iceland Academy of the Arts, Music Academy of Piteå and the town of Kokkola.

Competition Patron

Gustav Djupsjöbacka, pianist, rector, Sibelius Academy

Competition Committee

Sampsa Konttinen (chairman)
Heikki Aho
Sirkka Haavisto
Kirsti Rasehorn
Marja Mäki
Ilkka Sivonen (secretary)

Jury

Aulis Sallinen, professor, composer, Finland
Bengt Forsberg, pianist, Sweden
Monica Groop, mezzo, Finland
Franz Lukasovsky, tenor, professor, Austria 
Thomas Steinhöfel, pianist, professor, Germany

Competition Office / Information

Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory
Pitkänsillankatu 16
FI-67100 KOKKOLA
Finland

Tel. +358 6 824 1300
Fax +358 6 824 1350
e-mail: Sähköpostiosoite on suojattu roskapostiohjelmia vastaan, Javascript-tuen tulee olla päällä nähdäksesi osoitteen
www.kpkonsa.fi

General Rules

Participation

The Competition is open to voice and piano students at music academies, conservatories, polytechnics, universities and music colleges (hereafter: institutes) in any of the Nordic countries. Students born in the year 1975 or thereafter and graduating in 2006 or thereafter are eligible to take part. Only three duos may be entered from the same institute. The members of duos need not be studying at the same institute. At least one member of the duo must be matriculated in the sending institution. A maximum of 30 duos will be selected on the basis of recordings for the Competition proper. 
 
A pianist can take part in the Competition with only one singer; a singer can take part with only one pianist.
 
Competitors who have earlier won first prize in this competition are not eligible to take part.

Application

Repertoire

All songs included in programmes must be originally composed for solo voice and piano (keyboard).
Any chosen song can be sung only once in the competition programme.
All songs are to be sung in the original language, i.e. in the language in which it was composed.
Note that one of the criterions of the jury shall be how the duo has assembled its programme.

Rounds 1 and 2

For the first two rounds, the duo is to choose songs by four composers of different nationalities: German, French, British/American and Nordic.

The German composer must be chosen from the following list:
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg.

The French composer must be chosen from the following list:
Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Ravel.

The British or American composer must be chosen from the following list:
Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten, Charles Ives, Roger Quilter, Ned Rorem, Peter Warlock

The Nordic composer can be Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish.
 
The first round shall consist of the songs by the chosen German composer and the songs by one of the other chosen composers. Maximum time 15 minutes.
The second round shall consist of the songs by the other two composers not included in the first round. Maximum time 15 minutes.
 
The first two rounds must include songs in at least four different languages.

The final round

The final round shall be a freely chosen concert programme including at least one Nordic set of songs. No songs included in the first two rounds are to be repeated in the final round. Maximum time 30 minutes.

Competition Procedure
 
The order of performance will be decided by lot on Oct. 17th 2007. Before giving their Competition performance contestants must, on request, be prepared to present sufficient proof of eligibility. The Competition will be in three rounds. The number of finalists will in principle be limited to four duos. The provisional timetable for the Competition is as follows:

Oct. 17th 2007: draw for order of performance
Oct. 18-19th 2007: round I
Oct. 20th 2007: round II
Oct. 21st 2007: finals

Prizes

I prize 6 000 €/duo
II prize 3 500 €/duo
III prize 2 500 €/duo.

The Jury may at its discretion award the prizes in some other way.

Free accommodation for contestants from other Nordic countries 

The Competition Committee has the pleasure to announce that the Competition can offer Nordic students free accommodation in double rooms for 3-5 days during the competition in Kokkola. The number of free hotel days depends on how many foreign duos will be invited to Kokkola.

General
 
Please read the Competition rules and repertoire specifications carefully since failure to follow them will automatically result in disqualification. Any problems arising over the Competition rules will be decided by the Competition Committee. The Jury's decision will be announced but not the procedure. Any questions about practical matters should be addressed to the Competition Office.

The Organiser will have unlimited rights to the recording, broadcasting and televising of the Competition performances.
 
Preparing the competition repertoire and taking part in the competition procedure are equivalent to 6-8 ECTS / student.

In order to test the possibilities for developing the Competition into a European Lied Competition, the Competition Committee has decided to invite two music institutions from outside the Nordic countries to take part in the competition. The ArtEZ Conservatorium in the Netherlands and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen in Germany can send two duos each to the competition procedure. 

The classes for practising will be given when arriving. The draw for the performing order takes place on Thursday at 10.30 am and everyone must be present. The participants get the possibility to practise in the concert hall in the same order that they compete.

Oct. 17th: arrival
Oct. 18th: draw for order of performance 10.30; round I starts 17.00
Oct. 19th: round I continues 14.30
Oct. 20th: round II 18.00
Oct. 21st: final ca.15.30
Oct. 22nd: return