11th International Competition for Young Guitarists
«Andrés Segovia» from 1st to 3rd April 2021
in Monheim am Rhein

Our 11th youth competition which this year will be held by video performances can book a new record with more than 100 applications from 28 countries. We are looking forward to the recordings which will be assessed on-site by 3 high-carat juries from 1st till 3rd April.
Regrettably we could not accept all applications as we reached the absolute limit of our capacity.

To all applicants, their families and teachers we wish a happy, healthy and successful 2021.

Competition - adapted rules

A.  APPLICATION  (December)

ENROLMENT CLOSED

B.  ADMISSION  (about middle of January)

•  We will check all new and altered programmes till 15th January.
•  If your pieces meet the demands of our regulations (see "compulsory pieces"),
    we will inform you per e-mail that you are accepted to the competition.
•  After this admittance we ask you to transfer the enrolment fee of 50 Euro.
    You can find our banking details HERE.

C.  COMPETITION - VIDEO  (about the end of February)

1  Recording
•  You must record a video where you play your complete programme.
•  Between the pieces or movements you must not stop the recording.
•  The duration counts from 1st note of 1st piece till the last note of the last piece.
•  The duration must not be less than the minimum performance time of your age group.
•  Your video must not be cut or processed in any way.
•  Your face and your hands must be constantly visible.
•  HERE you can download a sheet with the logo of our competition
    which you must place somewhere in the scene, e.g. on a music stand.
•  Age group 3 must record 2 separate videos: one for round 1, one for the finals.

2  Technical data
•  As format of the video we only accept .MP4 (Codec H.264)
•  The graphical resolution must be 1280 x 720 minimum, preferably 1920 x 1080 pixels.

3  Upload of the videos
As of middle of February you can upload your videos to our server for about 2 weeks,
early enough, we will tell you the exact deadline and location of the upload.
Your individual data will be secured by /name/e-mail-address/password/.
You must not publish your video anywhere else before the end of the competition.

D.  PERFORMANCE  (April)

There will be no live-performances, the participants do not travel to Monheim.
The 3 juries will watch your videos in a random sequence for 3 days in Monheim.
There will be a live-stream of the last day (Saturday) directly into the internet:
   in the morning we will stream the Finals of age group 3,
   in the afternoon or evening we will announce the results of all age groups,
   this might be accompanied by live-performances of some jurors.

Here is the link to the complete regulations.

Competition at distance

Dear young guitar talents, dear parents and teachers!

In these Corona times many plans are turned upside down.
Yesterday we decided that the international young talents will not compete personnally but per video.
Holding the competition in this manner we can guarantee, that the event can take place independently from the development of the pandemy. Our "Regulations" have been adapted to the changed procedure.
We are looking forward to a vibrant echo from the world of guitar.

The 2021 Compulsory Pieces for all age groups are online.
We changed the rules concerning the special EGTA-prize.

Dear readers, for many people, a passion for music begins with a guitar. There is hardly any instrument that is more popular among budding musicians - and consequently this stringed instrument employed in such a variety of musical styles marks the beginning of many careers in music. However, enthusiasm for the guitar is not restricted to beginners. Technically demanding compositions and many-faceted uses in musical compositions make the guitar an instrument for virtuoso performances.

Over the next few days the International Competition for Young Guitarists will once again prove this and will focus on the high standards achieved by young guitarists. These talented youngsters will show in their performance of specially chosen works in front of a jury of renowned experts that the guitar is not only a popular instrument but is at the same time one that makes great demands on the player.

I am very pleased that in this competition - taking place this year for the 10th time - young musicians from so many different countries are going to demonstrate their skills to audiences of music lovers and to leading lights in the world of guitarists. As well as ensuring cultural exchange, the next few days here in Monheim will give participants the opportunity to push their playing to new limits and test it in new combinations of instruments.

Giving those with outstanding musical talent the opportunity to display and develop their skills - regardless of their family background or their country of birth - is one of the important aims of our policy in the field of culture. This competition for young musicians achieves just that for guitarists with great success. Nine months ago, the Prime Minister of our federal state, Armin Laschet, presented the Prize for the Promotion of Culture of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for 2017 to the guitar duo Sören Golz und Ivan Danilov. These two young men had participated, from 2004 on, in this competition for young guitarists and repeatedly won prizes. I would be delighted to see participants in this year's competition follow their example so that I could meet them again later in their careers.

Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen
Minister for Culture and Science
of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Get an impression of our competition by this VIDEO-TRAILER.

Here you will find a detailed report on our 2016 competition (sorry in German only)