The first year of the International Piano Competition Košice was held in 1993 and met great success. The author of this project has been Judita Barthová, who teaches piano at the School of Music of Mária Hemerková in Košice.

Till its fifth year the competition was organized annually, but later the organizing committee decided to change it to biennial cycle.

International Piano Competition Košice is the only competition in Slovakia of this size for children up the age of 15 with international participants from these countries: Austria, Georgia, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia-Montenegro and Ukraine. The number of participants is in average from 60 to 100, who compete in two rounds in three age categories; from 6 to 15 years. Their performance is evaluated by jury, consisting of five members, who represents significant personalities of international piano interpretation.

The Art Director of competition has been Peter Toperczer (born in Košice), a piano virtuoso and professor of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

The competition also has been supported by the Mayor of Košice and mayor of Košice-the Old Town. In the past years competitors were awarded prizes by the President of the Slovak Republic. Many thanks to all sponsors too.

In 1998 the competition was accepted by EMCY (European Union of Music Competitions for Youth) as an ordinary member, which increased its value in the international music field. EMCY supports competitions with the co-operation of UNESCO.

The aim of competition is to support young talented children and enable them to represent themselves on the stage, not only in Slovakia, but also abroad. Our effort is to create such conditions so that they could feel good in our city.

The final event of the competition is completed by the Concert of winners with award ceremony in the Palace of Art.