Commissions
Sir Stephen Hough
Hastings International Piano has commissioned three works for the Competition, starting in 2016 when the British composer Paul Patterson wrote Hastings Toccata for the 12th competition.
Lera Auerbach
In 2024 American composer Lera Auerbach wrote Time Unredeemable for the 17th competition. The twenty competitors who reached the second round all played the piece, choosing from two different possible endings and carefully placing the work in the recitals they had devised.
Paul Patterson
We are delighted that our patron, the distinguished pianist and composer Sir Stephen Hough, is writing a new work for the 18th competition in 2026 which again will be performed by all those who reach the second stage in the competition.
Lera Auerbach
In 2024 the third prizewinner, 17 year-old Chengyao Zhou also won the Hastings Prize for the best performance of Lera Auerbach’s piece.
Time Unredeemable
Vanessa Latarche and Juror Paul Hughes discussed Lera Auerbach's piece before the 2024 competition.
Sir Stephen Hough
Sir Stephen Hough talks about composing the test piece for the 2026 Hastings International Piano Competition
