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International piano competition · second edition

Pierre Barbizet Competition 2026

The second edition runs from 11 to 13 December 2026 in Marseille, at the Salle Musicatreize, chaired by the pianist Marie-Ange Nguci. All three days are open to the public free of charge, with booking. The competition opens the evening before with Lukas Geniušas's recital.

Entry form Competition rules
Pierre Barbizet at the piano, a Studio Harcourt portrait
© Studio Harcourt

Pierre Barbizet taught me that performing a work is not about reproducing a model, but about seeking a truth within the respect of a great tradition. He combined absolute rigour with a rare freedom. The Pierre Barbizet International Piano Competition carries that spirit forward: it invites young pianists to assert their commitment and their artistic singularity. It is a precious initiative, faithful to everything my teacher always stood for, and I can only welcome and support a competition that puts music first.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

The name of the competition

Why a Pierre Barbizet competition?

Pierre Barbizet in rehearsal, a score in hand

Born in Chile in 1922, Pierre Barbizet studied piano at the Marseille Conservatoire, then at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a first prize in 1944 in Armand Ferté's class. In 1948 he took first prize at the Scheveningen international competition in The Hague, and in 1949 was a prizewinner of the Marguerite Long international competition. It was then that he met the violinist Christian Ferras, with whom he formed one of the most celebrated duos of the century, until Ferras's death in 1982. Together they recorded the complete Beethoven sonatas, as well as sonatas by Brahms, Debussy, Fauré and Franck.

In chamber music he also worked with Samson François and with the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. As a soloist he excelled in Mozart and Beethoven as much as in the French repertoire, of which he became a tireless advocate — notably recording the first complete edition of Chabrier's piano works.

From 1963 until his death in 1990 he directed the Marseille Conservatoire, giving the institution fresh impetus under his motto: “no conformism in the midst of an immense tradition”. An eminent teacher, he helped bring forward the talents of today, his students including Hélène Grimaud, Philippe Cassard, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Frédéric Aguessy and Bernard d'Ascoli.

Our project

A Chopin competition in Marseille

About us →

The Société Marseillaise des Amis de Chopin is a French non-profit association, a member of the International Federation of Chopin Societies and of the Alink-Argerich Foundation.

One tradition of the Chopin societies is to run international competitions: the Warsaw Chopin Competition, among the most prestigious in the world, but also Nohant, Rome, Frankfurt and Hamburg. In France, this is the project the SMAC decided to bring to Marseille. The name “Pierre Barbizet Competition” came naturally, so much did this pianist of international stature contribute to the cultural life of the city.

Seven pianists from four countries

An international jury

The jury of the second edition brings together seven pianists with international careers, chaired by Marie-Ange Nguci. Concert performers and teachers alike, several of them have given recitals for the SMAC.

Rounds

Programme of the 2026 competition

Salle Musicatreize · 11 to 13 December 2026

How the competition works

1 March to 31 August 2026

Entries

Entries are open from 1 March to 31 August 2026. The age limit is thirty years old on 31 December 2026. Preselection is by video, via a YouTube link sent to concours@chopin-marseille.com.

10 December 2026, 8.30pm · Salle Musicatreize

The opening recital

See the season →

Lukas Geniušas, piano

  1. Chopin: Trois nouvelles études, posth.
  2. Chopin: 12 Études, op. 25
  3. Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Raphaël Collard, Ionah Maiatsky, Paul Lecocq and Mathis Cathignol holding their certificates at the Salle Musicatreize

First edition · 20 to 22 December 2024

The 2024 prizewinners

  • First prizeMathis Cathignol
  • Second prizePaul Lecocq
  • Third prizeIonah Maiatsky
  • Audience prizeRaphaël Collard

Warmest congratulations to them all, and our thanks to the audience and to every host family.

Pierre Barbizet Prize, first prize 2024

Mathis Cathignol

Born in 2000, Mathis Cathignol graduated in 2022 from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris with a master's in piano, awarded highest honours unanimously, having studied with Florent Boffard, Claire Désert, Romano Pallottini and Roger Muraro. He is now reading for a master's in accompaniment in the class of Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and Yumi Otsu, and continues to study piano with Célimène Daudet and Bernard d'Ascoli. Before entering the Paris Conservatoire he was, from 2009 to 2017, a pupil of Michel Leduc at the Aix-en-Provence conservatoire.

A prizewinner at numerous international competitions — Montrond-les-Bains, Flame, Maisons-Laffitte, Chatou, Cognac, Pianissima and Collioure — he received the Gabriel Dussurget “Young Hope” first prize in 2015. He has appeared three times as soloist with the orchestra of the Aix-en-Provence conservatoire, in Beethoven's Second Concerto, Rachmaninov's Second and Brahms's First. More recently he has played Stravinsky's Concerto for piano and wind instruments and Fauré's Ballade in Paris, and Ravel's Concerto in G in Moldova.

He gave a recital for the SMAC on 12 February 2026: Mozart, Chopin, Albéniz, Franck.

Pierre Barbizet in recital