{"id":13945,"date":"2026-01-21T17:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/?p=13945"},"modified":"2026-04-07T06:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:28:18","slug":"liszt-utrecht-2026-a-new-chapter-in-a-legendary-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/piano-news\/liszt-utrecht-2026-a-new-chapter-in-a-legendary-competition-13945\/","title":{"rendered":"Liszt Utrecht 2026: A New Chapter in a Legendary Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a cold and snowy Stockholm, and perhaps carrying a grain of skepticism towards Carl Maria von Weber’s solo piano music, Piano Street’s Patrick Jovell landed in a spring-sunny Utrecht, Netherlands. Yet, as the 40th anniversary of the Liszt Utrecht festival and competition unfolds, the weather isn’t the only thing defying expectations. Thanks to a clever curatorial lens, a sunnier, more enlightened picture of Weber and his influence on Liszt emerged. We are on the ground reporting from a week where education, performance, and competition merge.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is continuously updated throughout the festival week. Check back for more news!
\nLast update: 6 Feb. 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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After its 2022 exploration of Schubert, the 2026 edition of Liszt Utrecht turns its attention to Franz Liszt\u2019s artistic admiration for Carl Maria von Weber. The festival traces this lineage through Weber\u2019s original piano and chamber works, set alongside Liszt\u2019s virtuosic transcriptions of Weber\u2019s operatic repertoire \u2013 a curatorial focus unfolds across a series of distinctive formats.<\/p>\n

A dedicated Weber recital places his piano sonatas and transcriptions at the centre of the festival narrative, while A Night at the Opera, the opening concert, explores the piano as a theatrical medium through operatic transcriptions. Chamber music also plays a prominent role, with works by Weber and Liszt for piano trio, duo, and quartet highlighting the composers\u2019 shared sense of drama and colour beyond the solo keyboard.<\/p>\n

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Sunah Kim\u2019s contribution to the \u201cLiszt Stories\u201d series – played on a FAZIOLI – was titled \u201cLight and Darkness\u201d – a thematic recital that explored contrasts in Liszt\u2019s music.<\/p><\/div>\n

Several programmes place artistic imagination front and centre. In Liszt Stories, performers construct personalised recital narratives around one of Liszt\u2019s lesser-known works, while the Liszt Sonata series revisits the composer\u2019s B minor sonata as a paramount touchstone of the repertoire. The festival also steps outside the concert hall with Piano Promenade, offering the shopping mall Hoog Catarijne as venue for informal performances that bring the music into the public sphere.<\/p>\n

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Alberto Ferro performing with members from the Amatis Trio in the Chamber music section of the festival. All contestants are required to perform chamber music by Liszt and Weber in Duo, Trio and Quartet setting. All on a Yamaha CFX.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Thomas Kelly performing the B minor Sonata on B\u00f6sendorfer. Liszt\u2019s magnificent master work was heard eight times during the festival, and the variety of interpretations were striking.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The winner of Liszt Utrecht 2026, plus the audience award; Alexander Kashpurin<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jubilee Concert: Liszt Utrecht at 40<\/h2>\n