Gina Bachauer Competition

The quest beyond perfection

Top Classical, June 2021
In 1976 the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition was founded in Salt Lake City in honour of the famous pianist. It attracts young pianists from all over the world each year. Today is the second largest piano competition in the United States and it’s housed in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.   

Founded by Dr. Paul Pollei as Brigham Young University’s Summer Piano Festival and international piano competition, the event became the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation (GBIP) after it experienced growth and success under the patronage of the Utah Symphony.  

 As an independent organization, it is now known worldwide for its dedication to “further the pianistic art, foster excellence in performance and teaching, develop opportunities for pianists beyond the scope of the organization and offer leadership in developing a musically-educated citizenry.”  The GBIP prides itself for being more than just a piano competition but a mean of education, outreach, and opportunity. 

More than 1,000 pianists have competed in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competitions and cash prizes totaling more than $300,000 have been awarded. The competition is renowned for launching the careers of duo-pianists Gail Niwa and Lori Sims. 

The competition is wiedely known to be one of the most exigent in terms of musical abilitites. Some of the past contestants claim that “It’s very difficult to qualify. You have to be insanely good. Then the competition begins.” 

Historically, the last three rounds all take place over a three-week period in Salt Lake City, which presents a bit of accommodation problem for foreign competitors. 

All of the participants come from out of town and very few hotel rooms have grand pianos. So the foundation that runs the competition asks for volunteers who own grand pianos to share their homes with one of the competitors for 2-3 weeks. 

For the 2020 the Young Artists International Piano Competition prepared to feature 27 pianists ages 15-18.These young international pianists had to be given two Solo Round performances in Salt Lake City’s Rose Wagner Center. Five finalists would have then performed a concerto movement with the Utah Symphony in Abravanel Hall in their quest for medals and a share of $62,000 in cash prizes.  

Kary Billings, Bachauer’s executive director was thrilled with the level of the contestants: “The kids at this level are amazing. They have selected some of the most technically difficult and musically brilliant works from the piano literature that would be found in competition categories for adults. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that these young musicians will blow your mind.” 

Unfortunately, given the current circumstances, the 2020 Gina Bachauer Junior and Young Artists International Piano Competitions had to be cancelled, with the hope to be rescheduled for this June.