About the Competition

The International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was held in 2022. Currently, the competition is undergoing further development, and the next date has not been determined yet. It is anticipated to take place at the earliest in 2026.

Today's chairman of the jury and musical advisor, Professor Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, founded the competition in 2000 under the name “Concours Grieg”. It was arranged every year from 2000 to 2011 at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo as a joint venture between European Piano Teachers' Association, Oslo Music Teachers' Association and Oslo Grieg Society.

In 2012 the competition was moved to Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen, a part of KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, and renamed The International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition. With this move, the prizes increased and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra entered as the orchestra for the final round, and as an important partner.

The foundation Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen has been the main sponsor of the competition since 2012, and the competition's exclusive private contributor since 2014. Through generous funding the foundation has secured a competition on a high international level, organized by KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes.

The key ambition for today’s organization is a high quality competition with a warm and inclusive atmosphere in Grieg’s own historic surroundings. The candidates stay with host families, and the schedule includes a number of concerts and events during the whole competition week. All candidates who do not reach the semi-final are offered paid concerts at the “pianists on tour” concept, with a fee that in most cases will cover their travel expenses. A number of events, lectures and masterclasses make The International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition a unique piano gathering in a city with long musical traditions.

The Grieg Competition aims to be a modern competition of high standards concerning impartiality and transparency. From 2016, Grieg Competition publishes all votes by the Jury after the competition has ended.

The level of the competitors has been extraordinary high every year, so has the number of participants. The competition became a member of the Alink-Argerich Foundation in 2004, and a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 2017.
 

• The 13th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was arranged from 1-8 September 2012
• The 14th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was arranged from 11-18 October 2014
• The 15th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was arranged from 2-10 September 2016
• The 16th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was arranged from 1-9 September 2018
• The 17th International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition was arranged from 26 August - 3 September 2022

Competition Directors:
2011-2013: Ingrid Røynesdal
2013-2019: Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo
2019-2020: Thomas Heimstad
2020-: Christian Grøvlen

Winners 2022:
1st Prize: Fuko Ishii - Japan
2nd Prize: Aleksandra Świgut - Poland
3rd Prize: Zifan Ye - China

Audience Prize: Aleksandra Świgut - Poland
Orchestra's Prize: Aleksandra Świgut - Poland
Prize for best performance of a complete opus originally written for solo piano by Edvard Grieg: Guillaume Sigier - France
Prize for best performance of Ørjan Matre's "Notturno": Dina Ivanova - Russia

Winners 2018:
1st Prize: Ryoma Takagi - Japan
2nd Prize: Matyáš Novák - Czech Republic
3rd Prize: Alexey Trushechkin - Russia

Audience Prize: Ryoma Takagi - Japan
Orchestra's Prize: Alexey Trushechkin - Russia
Prize for best performance of a complete opus originally written for solo piano by Edvard Grieg: Lars Fredrik Nystad - Norway
Prize for best performance of Synne Skouen´s "sul g": Olga Stezhko - Belarus

Winners 2016:
1st Prize: Ah Ruem Ahn - South Korea
2nd Prize: Zhenni Li - China
3rd Prize: Ben Cruchley - Canada

Audience Prize: Ah Ruem Ahn - South Korea
Orchestra's Prize: Zhenni Li - China
AAF Award: Nozomi Nakagiri - Japan
Prize for best performance of a substantial work for piano solo by Edvard Grieg: Ben Cruchley - Canada
Prize for best performance of Christian Blom's Sommerfugl/Butterfly: Joanna Kacperek - Poland

Winners 2014:
1st Prize: Joachim Carr, Norway
2nd Prize: Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev, Russia
3rd Prize: Peter Friis Johansson, Denmark

Audience Prize: Joachim Carr, Norway
Orchestra's Prize: Joachim Carr, Norway
Prize for best performance of a substantial work for piano solo by Edvard Grieg: Peter Friis Johansson, Denmark
Prize for best performance of Ketil Hvoslef’s Il Colino II: Evgeny Brakhman, Russia

Winners 2012:
1st Prize: Sasha Grynyuk, Ukraine
2nd Prize: Anton Igubnov, Russia
3rd Prize: Mamikon Nakhapetov, Georgia

Audience Prize: Anton Igubnov, Russia
Prize for best performance of Lasse Thoresen's Invocation of Crystal Waters: Mamikon Nakhapetov, Georgia
Prize for best performance of solo piano music by Edvard Grieg: Sasha Grynyuk, Ukraine

The foundation Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen is the main sponsor and the exclusive private contributor to the competition.