Pianists aged 28 years and below of any nationality are eligible to compete in this competition.

There are four age categories:

Junior Age 10 and below (born in or after 2014)
Intermediate Age 14 and below (born in or after 2010)
Senior Age 18 and below (born in or after 2006)
Young Artist Age 28 and below (born in or after 1996)
  1. Contestants are limited to submitting ONE entry only. However, younger contestants are allowed to enter any category with a higher age limit.
  2. First-prize winners of the past IPFC are not eligible to compete in the same category again.

  1. Original works and standard arrangements/transcriptions from the classical repertoire (e.g. Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth-Century) are acceptable. The submitted repertoire is subject to review by the competition committee.
  2. Contestants may repeat the same repertoire from the earlier stages of the competition.
  3. The selected repertoire must strictly adhere to the time limit stipulated for each category (see below).
  4. All repeats are generally omitted except for da capo. However, repeats may be played at the discretion of the contestant should it enhance the music artistically.
  5. All works are to be performed from memory.
  6. Contestants are required to provide music scores for the jury panel:
    • Preliminary & Semifinal round: 2 sets
    • Final round: 3 sets
  7. Changes of the repertoire are not allowed after 8th March 2024.

Preliminary Round

Categories Junior Intermediate Senior Young Artist
Age 10 years and below 14 years and below 18 years and below 28 years and below
Time 4-7 minutes 8-10 minutes 10-15 minutes 15-20 minutes
Programme Requirement Two or more contrasting pieces within the time limit

Semi-Final Round

Categories Junior Intermediate Senior Young Artist
Time 4-7 minutes 8-10 minutes 10-15 minutes 15-20 minutes
Programme Requirement
  • Two or more contrasting pieces within the time limit;
  • One piece must be selected from the etudes listed below:
Any one from the following:
  • Burgmüller 18 Characteristic Studies Op. 109: Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14
  • Czerny Études de Mécanisme Op. 849: Nos. 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 23, 24
  • Heller 30 Progressive Studies Op. 46: Nos. 1, 4, 9
 Any one from the following:
  • Moszkowski Études de Virtuosité Op. 72
  • Chopin Trois Nouvelles Études
  • Heller 30 Progressive: Studies Op. 46 : Nos. 12, 14, 25, 29
 Any one from the following:
  • Liszt Three Concert Études S. 144
  • Liszt Two Concert Études S. 145
  • Chopin Études Op.10 or 25
 Any étude by the following composers: Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Ligeti, Debussy, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Bartok. OR, Any of the following:
  • Liszt Transcendental Étude
  • Chopin Études Op. 10: Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 12
  • Chopin Études Op. 25: Nos. 6, 8, 10, 11, 12
*Contestants may choose the etude from an advanced category. Eg: Intermediate contestant may choose etudes from Senior or Young Artist categories.

Final Round

Categories Junior Intermediate Senior Young Artist
Time 8-10 minutes 15-20 minutes 20-25 minutes
(including commission piece)		 35-40 minutes
(including commission piece)
Programme Requirement Three or more contrasting works within the time limit, including the commissioned piece
N/A N/A A commissioned piece (2-3 minutes). The score will be sent to contestants on the 31st March 2024 tentatively. Memorisation is not required for this piece. A commissioned piece (3-4 minutes). The score will be sent to contestants on the 31st March 2024 tentatively. Memorisation is not required for this piece.

Application Fees

Categories Local (RM) International (RM)
Junior 350 500
Intermediate 450 600
Senior 550 750
Young Artist 650 850

** 6% tax included in the application fees

**Please retain and send your proof of payment to [email protected]. All bank charges, including the bank charges in Malaysia should be borne by the applicant.
**The payer’s name (name of bank account holder) must be clearly captured in the transaction receipt.
**All application fees are non-refundable.

Candidates should submit all the application documents via email to [email protected]:

  1. Application form (Click here to download the form)
  2. A photocopy of the birth certificate/identity card/passport
  3. Proof of payment (Refer to section)

The application deadline is 20th January 2024, 11 pm (Malaysian time). Incomplete applications or applications received after the above stated date and time will not be accepted.

All participants must fill in their repertoire choices for all rounds when applying.

*Contestants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses (including travel insurance) in Malaysia throughout the competition period.

Malaysian Contestants

  1. All contestants holding Malaysian identity card/MyKad/passport are required to register as Malaysian applicants.
  2. Malaysian contestants residing locally in Malaysia are required to perform live in the preliminary round.
  3. Malaysian contestants who reside abroad are strongly encouraged to perform live in the preliminary round. However, such contestants may also choose to send in a high-quality video recording of their performance for the preliminary round if he/she is unable to perform live. Please for the video submission guidelines.

International Contestants

  1. All international contestants who DO NOT hold a Malaysian passport/Identity card/MyKad should be registered as international applicants.
  2. International contestants are encouraged to perform live in the preliminary round. However, he/she may also choose to send in a high-quality video recording of their performance for the preliminary round if he/she is unable to perform live. Please for the video submission guidelines.
  3. International contestants who reside in Malaysia strongly encouraged to perform live in the preliminary round.

To be updated.

1. Contestants must acknowledge every email sent by the organizer.
2. Contestants below the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Competition Schedule

  1. The competition schedule will be sent to the contestants 2 to 3 weeks before the competition date.
  2. Contestants must adhere to the competition schedule fixed by the organizer.

Registration

  1. On the day of the competition, all contestants are required to report to the registration desk 45 minutes prior to the assigned performance time.
  2. Contestants should always remain at the waiting room after the registration.
  3. Contestants who are late for the registration may be disqualified from the competition without a refund.

Practice Facilities

Practice facilities are available during the days of the competition. Scheduled warm-up room and time will be assigned prior to the allocated competition time after registration.

Dress Code

All contestants are expected to dress formally. Informal attire (such as jeans, sneakers, flip flops, shorts, short skirts, tank tops, t-shirts, etc) are strictly prohibited.

Concert Hall Regulations

  1. All forms of photography, audio, or video recording of the performances at all stages of the competition are strictly prohibited.
  2. All performances are open to the public. However, children under five years old are not allowed into the hall.

Adjudication

  1. The adjudication panel consists of national and international pianists.
  2. The adjudication panel reserves the right to stop a participant’s performance at any stage of the competition when a decision has been made. If the program offered exceeds the stipulated time limit, the adjudicator panel may choose to hear only parts of the program and ask the contestant to perform any section of the pieces offered, not necessarily from the beginning.
  3. The adjudication panel will award the contestants gold and silver medals in the preliminary round, and only gold medalists will qualify to advance into the semi-final round of the competition.
  4. The adjudication panel will select up to a maximum of six finalists for each category from the semi-finalists.
  5. The adjudication panel reserves the right not to award any prize in the final round.
  6. The adjudication panel’s decision is final: no discussion or correspondence will be entertained.

Announcement of Results

  1. The results will be announced at the end of the competition day. Contestants who performed in the preliminary round are encouraged to stay until the end of the competition day for the award ceremony.
  2. The results of the advancement to the next stage will be posted on:
  3. All shortlisted semi-finalists and finalists must perform live for the semi final and final rounds of the competition.

Prize Winners Award Ceremony and Concert for Final Round

  1. All prize winners for the Final Round of each category will be announced during the Award Ceremony held at UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur on 27th November 2022.
  2. The Prize Winners Concert will immediately follow after the Award Ceremony; all winners must be available to perform during the Prize Winners Concert.

Instructions for Uploading Videos to YouTube

All videos must be submitted by 16th March 2024, 5 p.m. (Malaysian time), see instructions on uploading videos to YouTube below.

A high-quality performance recording is required if contestants were to submit videos for their preliminary round of this competition. We would strongly encourage contestants to upload their recordings through YouTube.

  1. You need to create a user account on YouTube before uploading the performance videos.
  2. The video should not be older than 6 months prior to the application deadline.
  3. The entire programme must be recorded in one-take with no editing. Any form of video editing/effects is strictly not allowed.
  4. Your videos must be of acceptable visual and audio quality (HQ / HD).
  5. The contestant must be visible in the video throughout the performance. For a step-by-step guide on uploading to YouTube, please Click Here.
  6. Make sure you enter the information of your YouTube video as follows:

Video Details

Title: UCSIUIPFC 2024 - Contestant’s full name (XX Category)
Description: List the repertoire played in order, make sure you include the name of the composer and title of the piece.
Visibility Settings: Change to “Unlisted”
Comments and Rating Settings: Disable comments

Click the “Share” button, copy, and send your YouTube links to [email protected]. In the email, please state:

  1. The contestant’s full name
  2. Category
  3. List of the repertoire, including
    • Full name of the composer
    • Complete title of the piece (i.e. title, key, opus number and movements)
  4. Duration of the piece
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