In the spirit of Ferruccio Busoni’s pioneering approach, the International Piano Competition’s preliminary rounds are organised as a global festival, the Glocal Piano Festival. A long journey in collaboration with leading partners through piano marathons, held in iconic concert venues such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Amici della Musica di Firenze in Florence, Parco della Musica with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Miami International Piano Festival, the Dortmund’s Orchesterzentrum NRW, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, Toppan Hall in Tokyo and Salle Cortot in Paris.

The Glocal Piano Festival celebrates the uniqueness of each of the 120 pianists, allowing them complete freedom in their choice of repertoire and making every event a glimpse into the future of music. The audience takes centre stage: they do not simply attend the events of this far-reaching festival, but are active participants in the process of selecting one of the finalists.