The Paderewski Music Society in Los Angeles will hold the 2026 American International Paderewski Piano Competition on February 8-15, 2026. It is open to pianists ages 16-31. 25 semi-finalists will be admitted to the Competition after the preliminary stage is held via video recording. There will be six finalists.
Application deadline: November 15, 2025. With it, all entrants must include a 25-minute video recording. The choice of repertoire is up to individual performers, with the exception of one obligatory work by Paderewski from among those listed in the Competition Rules.
The Competition’s main prizes are $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500, with two additional prizes at $2,000 each for the best performance of a contemporary work written after 2007 and for the best performance of a work by Paderewski.
The application fee is $150. The Competition Jury includes Gloria Cheng, Jed Distler, Wojciech Kocyan, Adam Wibrowski and Wojciech Świtała.
[Source: press release]