The competition is starting soon – who was accepted?

The preliminary rounds for this year’s Prague Spring International Music Competition were held in Prague in late December and early January. This year’s event attracted a record number of entrants. Which of them were successful and managed to get through to the subsequent rounds of the international competition, which kicks off just before the start of the festival itself?

The competition committee for the French horn category, whose members are Petr Hernych, Jindřich Kolář, Jindřich Petráš and Zuzana Rzounková, selected 53 competitors for the May competition, from the following countries: Brazil (1), Czech Republic (10), China (5), France (4), Italy (5), Colombia (2), South Korea (4), Hungary (3), Mexico (1), Germany (8), Poland (1), Portugal (2), Austria (1), Slovenia (1), Spain (1), Ukraine (2), USA (1), Great Britain (1).

The committee for the violin category comprised members Leoš Čepický, Hana Kotková, František Novotný and Josef Špaček, who chose the 48 best violinists from the following countries: Czech Republic (8), China (7), France (1), Japan (8), Canada (1), South Korea (16), Germany (2), Austria (1), Slovakia (1), Switzerland (2), Ireland (1).

Click on this link to find out the names of those who were successful in the preliminary rounds and who will be coming to Prague in May: https://festival.cz/en/competition/prubeh-souteze/vysledky-predkola/

The main part of the competition will be held in Prague between 7 and 14 May 2024. The final round, where the finest players in the horn category will feel the adrenaline rush as they compete for the top spot, takes place in the Rudolfinum on Monday 13 May 2024. The soloists will be accompanied by the Pilsen Philharmonic under Chief Conductor Chuhei Iwasaki. The final round of the violin category, which could determine the candidates’ future career, is scheduled for the second finals evening on Tuesday 14 May 2024, involving the participation of the Prague Philharmonia under conductor Marek Šedivý.

The chairman of the horn jury is André Cazalet (France) and the members are Luca Benucci (Italy), Jörg Brückner (Germany), Jindřich Petráš (Czech Republic), Zuzana Rzounková (Czech Republic), Will Sanders (Netherlands) and Szabolcs Zempléni (Hungary). The violin competition jury will be chaired by Ida Kavafian (USA / Armenia), with members Hana Kotková (Czech Republic / Switzerland), Sergej Krylov (Italy), Daniel Phillips (USA), Liviu Prunaru (Romania / Belgium), Josef Špaček (Czech Republic) and Soyoung Yoon (South Korea).