1928 International Columbia Graphophone Competition - Submissions and Zone Judging

Submissions and Zone Judging

The contest was to be judged in two stages. "The World" (effectively Europe, the Americas, and the British Commonwealth) was divided into ten 'zones', each of which could award prizes for three works, the first prize being £150 sterling or $750, the second prize £50 or $250 and the third prize no money, but an 'honourable mention' (hochste Anerkennung). These 30 scores were then to be entered for the sole international first prize of £2,000 or $10,000, to be adjudicated in Vienna. The 'Zone' jurors, who judged the first stage, included such well-known personalities as Maurice Ravel, Thomas Beecham, Ottorino Respighi, and Karol Szymanowski.

As far as is known, despite the prestige of the competition, very few of the youngest generation of composers bothered to enter, especially those of a modernist persuasion. The terms of entry, and indeed the identity of many of the jurors, bespoke a highly conservative and traditionalist view of musical history. Nevertheless, several substantial figures of more senior generations participated in the competition, and not all their works were destined to be forgotten. At least 513 composers, and probably many more, submitted scores by the closing date. If the 30 or so winning entries in the first stage accurately reflect the proportion of original works to completions of Schubert, it would seem that about 20 per cent, i.e., something over 100 different "finishings" of the Unfinished, were submitted. Among the remaining 80 per cent of entries - the original works - there was a tremendous diversity of approach and character, and many submitted scores that had only the most tenuous connexion with the ideals outlined in the conditions of entry.