Bartók World Competition joins prestigious international association WFIMC

For the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic, the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), which includes more than one hundred and ten outstanding competitions, held its General Assembly’s session.

The Bartók World Competition is the second of Liszt Academy's events to become member of the WFIMC, with the Éva Marton International Singing Competition having been elected by the General Assembly in 2019.

The WFIMC, founded in 1957 and based in Geneva, includes, among others, the Mozart Competition in Salzburg, the Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition and Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, the Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, and others, the Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Texas, the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, the Arturo Toscanini Conducting Competition in Parma and the Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht.

András Csonka, Programme Director of Liszt Academy and Project Manager of both its international competitions, attended the General Assembly in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He has stressed that the WFIMC stands out among similar organisations in that it places great emphasis on discussing professional issues and finding real solutions.

András Csonka has added that the General Assembly praised the achievements of  Liszt Academy's Bartók World Competition since its launch five years ago, its visibility on the international stage and the high quality of the Budapest university's annual events.

He has also mentioned that one of the key issues raised at the event was the contestants’ country of origin, i.e. how to register and refer in publications to a person born in one country, who studied for years in a second country and currently living and working in a third country with a residence permit. The answer to this question, concerning a very common circumstance in competitions, is still being discussed.