From March to May, a jury composed of Aline Piboule and Lorenzo Soulès traveled globally, from Chicago to Frankfurt and Shanghai, to select twelve exceptional pianists aged 18 to 35 from forty artists. These talents will gather in Orléans from October 27 to October 31 for the International Piano Competition of Orléans, an event taking place at the Institut hall and the Théâtre d'Orléans Scène nationale. The competition, established over thirty years ago by Françoise Thinat and currently directed by Isabella Vasilotta, seeks to highlight a new generation of artists who approach the piano as an instrument of their time. The organization emphasizes the search for interpreters who are curious, creative, and committed, capable of bridging the masterpieces of the 20th century with contemporary creation and defending future works with the same conviction as the great repertoire. The 2026 edition will feature the world premiere of Paréïdolie, a work by Michaël Levinas specifically written for the competition, and a grand final that will bring together the three finalists and the Ensemble intercontemporain for the French premiere of the new version of Concerto conciso by Thomas Adès. To engage the public, the competition will host a piano morning with Filippo Gorini, a pianist known for his depth and rigor in interpretations, particularly of Beethoven. His recital will take place on Sunday, October 25, at the Institut hall. Gorini, a first prize winner of the Telekom Beethoven Bonn International Competition in 2015, will share his views on contemporary piano performance. The twelve candidates include Athena Deng (Canada), Mattia Fusi (Italy), Ayane Nakajima (USA), Linda Ruan (Canada), Shan-Chi Hsu (Taiwan), Georgy Krizhnenko (Russia), Milosz Sroczynski (Poland), Haruka Ugaji (Japan), Mai Kawano (Japan), Joohyang Han (South Korea), Carter Muller (Netherlands / USA), and Mizuki Ono (Japan). The jury members are Maria Grazia Bellocchio (Italy) – jury president, pianist and professor at the Milan Conservatory of Music; Duanduan Hao (China), pianist and professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Florian Hölscher (Germany), pianist and professor at the Frankfurt Conservatory of Music; Aleksander Laskowski (Poland), musicologist and journalist, spokesperson for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute; and Rena Shereshevskaya (France), pianist and professor at the École normale de musique Alfred Cortot. The public program includes semifinal recitals at the Institut hall from October 27 to October 30. Tickets cost 10€ per day, with reduced prices of 5€ for OCI "Plus" members, students, job seekers, and under 26 years old with proof. Students from music schools and conservatories can attend for free. Tickets can be purchased on site from the beginning of the competition. The final will take place on October 31 at 3 p.m. at the Théâtre d'Orléans. Tickets are available at www.theatredorleans.fr. A finalists concert will be held at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris on Monday, November 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the theater's website at www.bouffesdunord.com. The piano morning, an opening concert at the Institut, will take place on Sunday, October 25 at 10:45 a.m. with a recital by Filippo Gorini at the Institut hall. Tickets are 10€, with a reduced price of 5€ for members and free for under 18 years old, students from music schools and conservatories. Tickets can be purchased on site on the morning of the concert or online at www.helloasso.com/association/orleans-concours-international.