THE INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION
ROSER PALOMERO
AS A REFERENCE IN CULTURAL AFFAIRS

The International Piano Competition ‘Principality of Andorra Prize’ was started in 1995 by Roser Palomero, the current Director and alma mater of the Competition. The initiative swiftly gained support from both the public and private sectors, and began the steady development that has bought it to its present standing.

In its beginnings, already with Stanislav Pochekin as President of the Jury, the Competition ran four categories: Infant, Junior, Emerging Talents and Senior.

The sixth competition, held in 2000, marked an important step with the incorporation of pianist Alicia de Larrocha as Honorary President. In addition, with sixty competitors, the original four categories could be reduced to three. This was a first step towards the establishment of a single category, which was finally achieved in the tenth competition in 2004.

The competition came of age with its eighteenth edition in 2010, with eighty competitors. The death in this same year of Alicia de Larrocha led to the Competition being held as a memorial to her. At the same time, a new phase began with renovations of the Competition’s structure, such as the incorporation of an Audience Prize.

In the years of its existence, the Competition has enjoyed the support of many important figures from Andorran political life, such as Jacint Casal, Jaime Fortó, Pere Canturri Montanya, Lydia Magallón Font, Enric Pujal Areny, Juli Minoves , Antoni Martí Petit, Xavier Montané Atero, Juan María López Aguilar, César González Palacios, Eugenio Bregolat Obiols, Jean Jacques Gaillarde, Susanna Vela, Enric Casadevall Medrano, Mário Fernando Damas Nunes, Nuño de Bessa Lopes and Alberto Moreno Humet.

Beyond the evident competitive element, The International Piano Competition directed by Roser Palomero has been a reference within the Andorran cultural panorama, one which has enjoyed the participation of musical figures of great international prestige. On a yearly basis, it has attracted exceptional talent from around the world, young players who have brought their talent and art to the Principality.