International Piano Competition

Rules for the 2026 Edition
“42 International Piano Competition Delia Steinberg”

Download the Rules Document for the 2026 Edition
Register for the Competition

CALENDAR 2026 – Oeiras and Cascais (Portugal) from 2 to 5 October

  • JUNE 30: Online application deadline
  • JULY 31: Pre-selection – Publication the names of the admitted contestants 
  • AUGUST 20: Confirmation of participation
  • SEPTEMBER 15: Online draw to decide the order of performance
  • OCTOBER 2: Opening Concert

Live eliminatory rounds

  • OCTOBER 3:  First Round
  • OCTOBER 4: Semifinal Round
  • OCTOBER 5: Final Round and Awards Ceremony

RULES – Registration

Pianists of any nationality, between 18 and 30 years of age on the date of the start of the competition, who have not won the first prize in previous editions, are invited to apply.

The application period is open from the date of publication of the Rules until June 30, 2026 inclusive.

a. The entire application process will be carried out through the official website filling up this application form and attaching the following: 

  • National Identity Card or Passport.
  • Recent photograph.
  • Receipt of the payment of the application fee.
  • Program to be performed in each of the Rounds.
  • Brief curriculum (up to 100 words please).
  • A recent video recording (link to youtube).

b. An application fee of € 100 (one hundred euros) is set.  The name and surname of the contestant must be clearly reflected in the bank transfer.

Payment will be made for the full amount, free of charge for the competition, by bank transfer to:  

International Organization New Acropolis Portugal

  • IBAN: PT50 0045 5492 40291166065 98
  • BIC/SWIFT: CCCMPTPL
Register here

PRE-SELECTION

The jury will make the pre-selection of participants based on the viewing of the videos and the curriculum. The Video recording must be made no earlier than June 30, 2025, with a fixed camera, without post-production, in which the hands are clearly visible. This recording must be sent as a link to the YouTube platform, specifying in the description the works performed and the name of the contestant.

The curriculum must include the contestant’s artistic career, including the prizes obtained, the study center, as well as the name of the current and past teacher(s).

The notification of admission or non-admission to participate in the live Rounds of the competition will be made no later than July 31, 2026.

A list of the contestants admitted for the live Rounds will be made public on the contest’s social networks.

CONFIRMATION OF PARTICIPATION

Admitted contestants must confirm their participation by email sent to [email protected] ratifying the program to be performed in the eliminatory tests before August 20, 2026. Failure to confirm within the indicated period will result in the loss of a place in the competition. This place may be offered to another contestant at the discretion of the jury.

The program to be performed by each contestant, in all its Rounds, will be reviewed by the secretary and the artistic direction of the contest. Any necessary modification will be notified to the contestant. 

ONLINE DRAW

On September 15, 2026 at 8:00 p.m., the draw will take place in Oeiras (Portugal) to determine the order of participation of the contestants. The organization will provide the link to follow the draw live days before. Subsequently, the order of participation in the First live Round will be published on social networks and notified by email to each contestant.

AWARDS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONTEST

The competition establishes the following prizes:

FIRST PRIZE

•    5.000 euros and diploma.
•    Concert in the city of Brasilia (Brazil) on dates that will be specified later between the end of the contest and the next edition. New Acropolis Brazil will take care of the travel expenses plus two nights’ accommodation, as well as the advertising of the concert. This concert is not remunerated.

SECOND PRIZE

•    2.000 euros and diploma.

THIRD PRIZE

•    1.000 euros and diploma.

SPECIAL PRIZE “PORTUGUESE MUSIC” FOR THE BEST INTERPRETATION OF A WORK BY A PORTUGUESE COMPOSER

  • Concert integrated into the Festival of Music and Philosophy of Oeiras and Cascais.

    This prize will be awarded to the finalist who has best performed work(s) by a Portuguese composer in the Semifinal Round.

The date of the concerts will be agreed between the organization and the winners. They will have to be carried out during the course of the year and before the next edition of the contest. With the exception of the award for the best performance of Portuguese music. Likewise, the travel, accommodation and promotion expenses of the concerts will be covered by the organization. These concerts are not remunerated.

PRE-SELECTION REPERTOIRE

(Choose a piece from each group)

Group A) An Etude by F. Chopin, to be chosen from the following:

  • Op. 10 or Op. 25 (except Op. 10 No. 3, 6 and 9 and Op. 25 No. 2, 7 and 9)

Group B) An Etude to be chosen from the following authors:

  • F. Liszt (except Transcendental Etudes No. 9 “Ricordanza”, No. 11 “Harmonies du soir” and Concert Study “La Leggerezza” S. 144 No. 2)
  • A. Scriabin (except Op. 2 No. 1, Op. 8 No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 8 and No. 11, Op. 42 No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, No. 7, Op. 65 No. 2)
  • S. Rachmaninov (except Op. 33 No. 3 and No. 7 “Moderato in G minor”, Op. 39 No. 2 and No. 7)
  • C. Debussy (except Nos. 3 and 10)
  • B. Bartók

LIVE ROUNDS – FIRST ROUND

The live Rounds of the competition will take place at the Palácio dos Aciprestes, Linda-a-Velha, Oeiras, Portugal.


FIRST ROUND

It will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 10:00 am and will consist of the performance of:

A. Sonata by Domenico Scarlatti, A. Soler or C. Seixas.

B. Complete work of free choice by a composer between the romantic and contemporary periods, lasting between 5 and 15 minutes. No single movements or parts of Sonata will be allowed.

The chosen works may not be repeated in any of the other Rounds. 

SEMIFINAL

It will take place on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at a time to be established and will consist of the interpretation of:

A)    A classical Sonata, to choose from:

  • J. Haydn: HobXVI:20 in C minor, HobXVI:32 in B minor, HobXVI:34 in E minor, HobXVI:46 in A flat major, HobXVI:49 in E flat major, HobXVI:50 in C major, HobXVI:52 in E flat major.
  • W. A. Mozart: KV279 in C major, KV280 in F major, KV281 in B-flat major, KV283 in G major, KV284 in D major, KV309 in C major, KV310 in A minor, KV311 in D major, KV330 in C major, KV331 in A major, KV332 in F major, KV333 in B-flat major, KV457 in C minor, KV533 in F major,  KV576 in D major.
  • L. van Beethoven: any Sonata except Op. 10 No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 14 No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 49 No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 79.
  • F. Schubert: D.840 in C major, D. 845 in A minor, D. 850 in D major, D. 894 in G major, D. 958 in C minor, D. 959 in A major, D. 960 in B-flat major.

B) A complete work or several complete works of a duration of between five and eight minutes by the following composers:

  • José Vianna Da Motta*, João Domingos Bomtempo*, Óscar da Silva*, Alfredo Napoleão*, Luiz Costa*, Alfredo Cristiano Keil*, Armando José Fernandes*, António de Lima Fragoso*, Luís de Freitas Branco*, Fernando Lopes-Graça*, Isaac Albéniz, Enric Granados, Manuel De Falla, Joaquín Turina, Frederic Mompou, Vincent D’Indy, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Cécile Chaminade, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Germaine Tailleferre, Ottorino Respighi,  Leoš Janáček, Anatoly Lyadov, Sergei Lyapunov, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Anton Arensky, Alexander Scriabin, Karol Szymanowski, Xaver Scharwenka, Grażyna Bacewicz, Bohuslav Martinů, Pavel Haas, Ernest Bloch, Erich Korngold, Max Reger, Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell, Florence Price, Arthur Napoleão, Heitor Villa-lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, Alberto Nepomuceno.

The submission of single movements of Sonatas or parts of incomplete pieces will not be accepted.

*The “Portuguese Music” Special Prize will be awarded to the best interpretation of works by these composers. In the case of selecting works by these authors, works of a maximum duration of ten minutes may be included. The performance of one or more movements of Sonata will be accepted. The submission of incomplete parts of works will not be accepted.

FINAL

It will take place on Monday, October 5, 2026, at a time to be established.

It will consist of the performance of two complete works to be chosen*, one from Group A and the other from Group B, selected from among the following authors:

  • Group A) F. Chopin, F. Liszt, R. Schumann, J. Brahms, F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, F. Schubert, C. Franck (except Prelude, Fugue and Variations Op. 18), J. Viana da Motta, A. Fragoso, E. Granados, A. Scriabin (up to and including Op. 30), S. Rachmaninov, M. Mussorgsky.  
  • Group B) C. Debussy, M. Ravel, G. Fauré, S. Prokofiev, B. Bartók, O. Messiaen, I. Stravinsky, A. Berg, A. Scriabin (from Op. 31 onwards), I. Albéniz, M. de Falla, A. Ginastera, H. Villa-lobos, P. Hindemith, L. de Freitas Branco, D. Shostakovich, C. Guarnieri, G. Bacewicz, C. Vine, L. Liebermann.

This Round, with its two works, may not exceed 50 minutes in length, including breaks between works.

*Complete works or complete cycles/Opus or a separate piece from a cycle/Opus will be accepted. Likewise, complete cycles/Opus of Etudes, Preludes, Mazurkas or other musical forms will be accepted.  

The presentation of several pieces of the same cycle/Opus or individual parts or movements of a Sonata will not be accepted.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Repertoire
All works must be performed from memory.

The repetition of the same work in different Rounds is not allowed.
Works that require prior piano preparation will not be admitted.
The chosen repertoire must reflect the artistic personality of the contestant, as well as their ability to express musical ideas. For this reason, the jury will assess not only the performance of the repertoire presented but also its difficulty and variety.
The repertoire sent will be reviewed by the artistic direction and the secretary of the competition, who reserve the right to reject repertoires that do not meet the requirements of these rules and to request any necessary corrections from the contestant in question.

Rehearsal pianos
The organization will offer rehearsal pianos to the contestants in the facilities where the contest is held. The allocation criteria will be determined by the order of participation.
A list of contestants and the assigned rehearsal room will be published each day, trying to provide equal rehearsal time to each contestant.
Other considerations
At the end of each of the Rounds, the organization will make public the list of contestants who will pass to the next Round on the contest’s website and networks, as well as on the contest’s notice board.
Unjustified delay by a contestant to perform in any of the Rounds will lead to an immediate elimination.
Complaints will not be accepted in relation to the decisions of the jury and the organization of the contest, since they are final.
The contest reserves the right to record the different Rounds for the exclusive use of its website and social networks. Therefore, any recording by the audience will have to be previously approved by the organization of the contest.
The organization of the contest reserves the right to modify each of the points of these rules, making them known well in advance.
For the resolution of possible doubts or errors in the translated versions, the official text of the contest will be considered the one written in Portuguese. 

Oeiras, March 2026