Honens International Piano Competition: User’s Manual

The Honens International Piano Competition looks for the complete artist. Not the complete pianist. Not the fastest horse on the track, nor the biggest shark in the ocean. One, complete, versatile, modern artist. This sets the tone for the event, festival, masterclasses, and piano lab held in Calgary, Alberta, between October 15 and 24 this year.

Calgary is Canada’s flagship rodeo town, respected even in Texas as I’ve heard firsthand, which is saying much. Occurring every three years since its inaugural 1992 edition, the Honens has become “one of two cultural events that have put Calgary on the map” according to the BBC music magazine. To reiterate the other landmark would be redundant—yet more different they cannot be.

The Honens Way

The process begins with an online application that includes one’s resume, repertoire choices, experience, and references. An Applicant Screening Jury selects 50 pianists to perform at a live quarterfinal stage held in Berlin and New York, followed by an interview in English. The First Jury then selects 10 pianists to advance to the semifinals held in Calgary.

Once on site, competitors are treated like guest artists in a concert series: they pick the music, we listen. The first semifinal round includes an hour-long solo recital; the second round includes chamber works for one instrument and piano (this year the cello), a commissioned solo work and more solo repertoire. Only three pianists are chosen for the finals. They will play two rounds: a piano quintet with a solo encore announced on stage, and any concerto with orchestra written after 1791 (the year of Mozart’s death).

One of the particularities of the Honens is that participating pianists are given carte blanche in their choice of repertoire at each stage of the competition. Yet, unlike most competitions of that calibre, the Honens requires each pianist to program a work by an underrepresented composer. While loosely defined, this requirement provides an appropriate level of freedom to stimulate the surprising and diverse selections that may come as a result. Instead of formatting artists according to outdated and conservative standards, the Honens invites the unexpected—a precondition to creativity.

The Honens Artist

Ultimately, one Honens Gold Laureate is selected by the Second Jury who hears all 10 contestants from the semis onwards. The winner receives a $100,000 cash prize. The Silver Laureate gets $40,000 in cash, while the Bronze Laureate gets $20,000. All three finalists benefit from the Artist Development Program. Other cash awards are given to the Audience Choice ($5000), the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work ($5000), and each of the remaining seven semi-finalists receives $2500.

In the words of Jon Kimura Parker, Artistic Director of the Honens, “The complete artist has, beyond spectacular technique, a unique musical perception, and the ability to translate their life experience into their interpretation of music. We are looking to find out how they integrate other parts of their person into their artistry, how they collaborate with other musicians on stage, and how they speak and introduce an encore to the public.” Honens artists are expected to propose interesting programming, capturing their repertoire into a “creative and integrated whole,” says Parker during a pre-concert chat prior to the first semi-final round.

Beyond their performance, each participant writes their own program notes, bio, and prepares their own videos—all in an effort to demonstrate a rounded personality with the capacity to engage with today’s world, says Amanda Smith, President and CEO of the Honens. During the evaluation process, each musical collaborator—including cellist Rachel Mercer, composer Iman Habibi, conductor of the Calgary Symphony Orchestra Elias Grandy, and the Isidore String Quartet—gives their opinion on their experience working with the candidates.

A glimpse into what a complete artist may be, according to Honens standards, was given Wednesday night at the Infinity Dome Theatre of the Telus Spark centre. Honens 2018 Gold Laureate, Nicolas Namoradze, gave a highly unusual lecture recital. A 3D representation of his brain was projected onto the dome screen above the audience depicting areas of his frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes that were lit up depending on how the music he played involved their respective functions. Science fiction, science, or artifice, one must admit—it is innovative.

Let us see how these youngsters follow suit. Honens artists: dazzle us—or go home.