Pianist Cristiana Achim, founder of Piano-Travel, was invited by the Academy Liszt Music Art to perform a solo recital at the Museo Sistino di Grottammare, Italy, in April 2026, with a programme including Liszt, Ravel, Granados and Rachmaninov. A delightful opportunity brought to groups of Erasmus students from Romania, Croatia, Poland and Greenland to dive in the world of classical music.
Grottammare isn’t the kind of place that tries to impress you. It’s quiet, but in a way that stays with you. There’s the smell of orange trees as you walk through the streets, the sea always somewhere in the background, and a kind of calm that makes you slow down without realising. It feels slightly removed from everything else, in the best way.
It’s not surprising that Franz Liszt spent time here and became so attached to it. He stayed for over a month in 1868 and wrote about the place with real affection: “The blue sea, the pleasant green hills, the sweetness of the climate and the scent of the orange blossoms form a poem to the celestial harmony of sounds.” While he was here, he also completed the Offertorium from the Messa Solenne di San Francesco d’Assisi for male choir. Being there, you start to understand how a place can shape sound, thought, even the way you conceive a musical phrase.
That connection to Liszt is still very much alive today. The Academy Liszt Music Art (ALMA), based in Grottammare, organises an annual international piano competition dedicated to him. It’s open to pianists up to 39 years old, has different age categories, you can compete online or in-person and offers real performance opportunities, including concerts in Italy and Hungary, even at Liszt’s memorial house.
For those who feel drawn to places that carry history quietly, and to music that grows out of it, this is something worth exploring.
Applications are now open: www.premioliszt.it
Deadline: 1st October 2026
You can also find this opportunity in the Piano-Travel guide here: https://piano-travel.com/events/11th-international-piano-competition-franz-liszt-italy/
