An international piano competition has set out to “combat male dominance” by introducing new rules to favour female musicians.
The Leeds International Piano Competition has taken steps to give women a greater chance of winning after announcing new judging rules for this year’s event.
The judges, who vote on the outcome of each round, have been instructed to “consider advancing” female competitors over their male counterparts in the event of a tie.
They have also been told there must be a re-vote at certain stages of the competition when there is a “single-gender result or a result that significantly reduces the ratio of women to men”.
The change comes after competition chief executive Fiona Sinclair announced earlier this year that organisers were “forced to confront” the apparent gender disparity at the event, which last year had an all-male final.
An international piano competition has set out to “combat male dominance” by introducing new rules that favour female musicians. Pictured here is one of the two finalists in this year’s competition: Junyan Chen
Khanh Nhi Luong from Vietnam will also be in the final of the event which takes place over the next two days at St George’s Hall in Bradford.
Ms Sinclair wrote in a Guardian article in March: ‘We are taking a broad-based approach to this year’s Leeds piano competition.
‘Through initiatives such as blind preselections, minimizing biographical details in all rounds, unconscious bias training for juries, and targeted professional support for aspiring pianists, we are committed to shaping a more equitable playing field.
“We have also reviewed our voting processes with a lawyer, although there is actually no legislation that applies to competitions.”
The Leeds International Piano Competition is now underway with the finals taking place over the next two days at St George’s Hall in Bradford.
The finalists include two pianists, UK-based Junyan Chen and Khanh Nhi Luong from Vietnam, as well as three male competitors: Canadian Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, Britain’s Julian Miles Trevelyan and Taiwan’s Kai-Min Chang.
Instructions to the judges officiating at this year’s event stated that in the event of a tie between a male and female competitor during any round, “we ask the jury to consider advancing her first.”
There are also three male finalists in the competition, including Canada’s Jaeden Izik-Dzurko.
Taiwanese Kai-Min Chang also made it to the final of this year’s competition.
The rules also state that if, during the second round and semi-finals, there had been “a single-gender result or a result that significantly reduces the ratio of women to men”, the jury would have held a new vote.
It is unclear whether such a scenario took place during this year’s competition.
Announcing the new measures in February, the Leeds International Piano Competition said they had been introduced “to address the long-standing problem of male dominance in the piano world”.
This year, the judges also had to participate in an “Anti-Bias Training, which aims to eliminate both conscious and unconscious biases to promote a more equal environment for all competitors.”
The winner of the competition will receive £30,000, plus a debut recording with Warner Classics, a management contract with Askonas Holt and several international touring opportunities.
Meanwhile, second and third place will receive £18,000 and £12,000 respectively, as well as a host of other benefits, while fourth and fifth place will receive £6,000 each.
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