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The American Music Scholarship Association was founded in Cincinnati in 1956 by Gloria Ackerman, who is still its director. It remains a major source for the education and advancement of young piano talent in the United States. Every spring, pianists around the world are evaluated in performance or by tape audition. This year 150 of them made it through that preliminary audition. 137 attended the competition in Cincinnati in early July. Here their talents and work are recognized and judged. The contestants range in age from 5 to 30, and compete on a level with others in their class or age group. Winners are given cash awards and further exposure.
When the AMSA was founded there was no real structure or rigor in the training of pianists in this country. Teachers had widely varying methods and talent. Curriculum was very loosely defined. Maybe that's why there were few outstanding American pianists. AMSA promoted the kind of training that had been developed in Canada, Europe, and the USSR; the scheme is based on a piano syllabus that grades all the repertory and requires that certain pieces be mastered at each stage.
The AMSA program encourages an early start, eliminates unrealistic expectations among the modestly talented, and seeks to motivate the truly gifted to undergo the rigorous training that will make the most of their talents. The advancement of young pianists is the real purpose of the organization, and the annual competition is only one component of the program.
This year 18 countries were represented, but among the younger children Americans were most numerous (by design). Along with the "Young Artists" (under 18) there is a place for pianists from 18 to 30 whose talents are more developed. So this is really two competitions. The older group is judged as a unit, with the usual first, second, and third prizes. The younger ones can win in a number of categories and age levels. The whole thing covers a full week, beginning with three days of preliminaries, quarterfinals, and semifinals among the older players.
It's a grueling time for the judges, who spend the whole week listening to very varied performances of mostly standard repertory. After a while they must become somewhat jaded, responding strongly only to the...