The intent of the XVII Golden Key Piano Composition Competition is to encourage creativity and selfexpression in new and upcoming composers and to provide an opportunity for winning compositions to reach an international audience at the World Composers’ Recital held as part of the Golden Key Music Festival of Vienna. The competition comprises National and International Divisions. The National Division is exclusively available to composers residing in the United States, whereas the International Division is open to composers worldwide. U.S. residents have the option to apply for the National, International, or both divisions.
Deadline for submission: December 1, 2024
The Competition is open to composers in five age categories:
• Elementary (age 5 – 10)
• Junior (age 11 – 14)
• Senior (age 15 – 18)
• Young Artist (age 19 – 26)
• Professional (age 27 and older)
We determine the category based on the participant’s age as of December 1 of the contest year.
The following composition requirements must be met or the application may be disqualified.
• A composition must have a title.
• A composition may be in any style and should be originally written for a piano or a piano in ensemble with up to four other instruments or/and voices as long as piano would be the leading, not just an accompanying, instrument. Compositions for prepared piano are not permitted.
• The performance time of the composition must be no longer than seven minutes. For the composition which is longer than seven but less than fifteen minutes double application fee is required. We do not accept the composition which is longer than fifteen minutes in performing time.
• The composition manuscript must be a fully realized score. We do not accept composition which requires improvising performing style.
• The manuscript should be submitted electronically in PDF format.
• No change may be made to the manuscript once it has been submitted.
• A composition that includes copyrighted text must be accompanied by a written statement from the copyright holder giving permission to use the text. If the text is in the public domain, a statement signed by the teacher and student indicating this fact must accompany the entry.
To apply for entry into the 2025 competition
•Email to goldenkeyfest@gmail.com the composer’s full name, gender, date of birth, email and mailing addresses, contact phone number.
•Composition title.
•Attach the composition(s) score and, if you wish, any text regarding the composition.
•Enclose a brief (up to 200 words) composer’s biography.
•You are welcome to include the entire URL (clickable link) to the recorded and upload on Youtube or similar public site the piano composition’s audio or video performance. Or you can email the recording in MP3 format. A composition for an ensemble of instruments must be accompanied by its recording.
•Payment confirmation and name of remitter. (The relevant Application Fee could be sent to us electronically via PayPal (our ID is goldenkeyfest@gmail.com) or via direct deposit to our bank account. If you have any questions regarding to the registration procedure, please use our email address.)
Application Fees
The application fees are as follows:
• National (must be resident of the United States): $90 for each person/entry of a composition
• International: $115 for each person/entry of a composition
• Combined (submitted simultaneously to the Competition in both the National and International Divisions: $200.
If a composer is submitting more than one composition, a separate fee for each composition is required.
*All fees are non-refundable.
Winners of the Composition Competition-2025 will be announced by January 10th, 2025 HERE. All participants will receive a notification email no later than January 10th, 2025.
Winners of the Composition Competition-2024 here
Winners of the Composition Competition-2023 here
Here you can find the Winners of the past years.
(The page temporarily is unavailable)
• Winners in each category will be awarded Diplomas in either First Degree, Second Degree, Third Degree, Fourth Degree, or Honorable Mention.
*For composers living in the USA only. In case of submission to two categories, only one winning place could be received, ether National or International. The judges of the Golden Key Piano Composition Competition will consider, based upon the merits of the composition, what category the submitted material will be applied to.
• Selected winning compositions will be included in the program of the World Composers’ Recitals
in Vienna (Austria), part of the Golden Key Music Festival of Vienna .
*Only one piano would be available on the concert stage in Vienna.
The winners of the Piano Composition Competition and their families are invited to attend the Vienna Festival. More information about registering for the Vienna Festival you are welcome to find here
• The top winner in each of the five age categories in the both Divisions (National and International) is eligible to receive a $500.00 scholarship towards his or her participation in the Golden Key Music Festival of Vienna (registration for the seven-days tour required). In the case of a tie, the scholarship amount will be divided between winners equally.
• Each winner’s teacher will be awarded a Certificate of Excellence if teacher’s name is mentioned in the Application Form.
• We will be glad to promote works of our winners on our Composition Competition Facebook Page. Please, email video recorded performances to gk.musicfest@gmail.com
World Composers’ Concert & Diplomas
• All winners will receive an electronic version of their Diplomas via email. The winners of the Piano Composition Competition are welcome to perform their pieces and receive their diplomas and commemorative medals on the stage of the luxury concert hall in Vienna at the World Composers’ Concert as part of the Golden Key Music Festival of Vienna. Information about the Vienna Festival-Tour, including day trips to Salzburg, Eisenstadt, Baden, and the Vienna Woods you are welcome to find here
• If the winner is not able to participate in the Golden Key Music Festival in Vienna, he/she may request a professional pianist to present the composition in the World Composers’ Concert for an extra performance fee. The professionally made video recording will be send to the composer.
• The winner also may request the Diploma by mail. We will mail the Diploma by guaranteed delivery service (certified/FedEx, etc.) only. The mailing procedure requires an additional Special Delivery Fee from you: $45 for Diplomas sent within the US or $75 for Diplomas sent outside the US. Requests Diploma by mail will be accepted up to April 15th of the Competition’s year (i.e. requests for the Diploma of the Competition-2025 will be accepted until 04/15/2025).
• All winners will receive an electronic version of their Diplomas.
All inquiries, please, send to: goldenkeyfest@gmail.com. Performance and special delivery fees are payable to the Golden Key Music Festival by April 15, 2025
Andrey Komanetsky (USA)
Andrey Komanetsky was born in Moscow, Russia in 1965. He received a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance (studied with Nina Svetlanova), and Master’s degree in composition (studied with Nils Vigeland) from the Manhattan School of Music (NY). He is the first-prize winner of the 2005 International Composition Competition for Piano Trio (Austria). His winning work Affinity to Movement was designated by the judging panel to be the compulsory piece, alongside a piano trio of Franz Schubert, for the participants in the piano trio category of the 6th International Competition “Franz Schubert und die Musik der Moderne” (Austria). It was performed in the Kammermusiksaal, and the Stefaniensaal at the Graz Convention Center in Austria in February 2006. Affinity to Movement received its world premiere in the Embassy of Japan in Belgium in January 2006. Mr. Komanetsky was also a prizewinner in the 2001 Discover America Competition for New American Chamber Works (Chicago), with his 12 Preludes for Piano Trio premiered by the Chicago Ensemble. His other compositions have been performed in Asia, Europe, and in the United States. His composition The Juggler was nominated as a compulsory piece for the Third Alberti Piano Competition (Jakarta, Indonesia 2012) and a special prize was established in his name. Mr. Komanetsky has had numerous collections of piano solo pieces published by the Willis Music Company (KY), distributed by Hal Leonard International Corporation, and The FJH Music Company Inc. His pedagogic compositions are hailed by the Music Teachers National Association as “substantive and realistic challenges that promote musical and technical growth. . . and evoke some of the most effective pedagogical works of Bartok and Kabalevsk.” Mr. Komanetsky is also an active pianist, performing frequently in concerts in the tri-state areas of NY, NJ, and CT. He was the artistic director and pianist-in-residence of the Telesis Contemporary Ensemble (NYC) from 2000 to 2002. He is the music director, organist, and choir director at the Roman Catholic Church of Saint John in the Bronx, NY. He has been on the music faculty of Amadeus Conservatory, Chappaqua, NY since 2004, teaching piano.
Eun Young Lee (USA)
Eun Young Lee has worked with many ensembles, including the New York New Music Ensemble, eighth blackbird, Pacifica String Quartet, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, ALEA III, North/South Consonance Ensemble, Timetable Percussion, Gemini Ensemble, Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, The Cardinall’s Musick, and the Geum-Pa Flute Ensemble. Her instrumental pieces, computer music, multimedia pieces, and film music have been featured in festivals and concerts in many countries, including June in Buffalo, the SCI National Conference, St. Magnus Festival in the UK, the Czech-America Institute in Prague; the Korean Music Expo, the 60X60 Project, Vox Novus, the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, MGMC, the IAWM Congress, the Gene Siskel Film Center, Pinocoteca do estado de Sao Paulo in Brazil, and Music09 in Switzerland. Her works have received the first prize at International Music Composition Competitions in Korea, United States, China and havwe been broadcast through Art of the States, EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) and are featured in the SCI Journal of Music Scores (Vol. 41) as well as CD series (No.23) Ms. Lee earned her PhD (2011) at the University of Chicago. She has also worked with Joel Hoffman and Fred Rzewski at Music 09; David Felder at June in Buffalo; Virko Baley, Chen Yi and Jorge Grossmann at N.E.O.N. Festival; Ladislav Kubik at Czech-America Insititute in Prague as a composition fellow, and Melinda Wagner and Augusta Read Thomas at ACA (Atlantic Center for the Arts) as an Associate Artist-in-Residence.