Concertino Praga – Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition for Young Musicians, has been held since 1966. It is a multi-instrumental competition, whose mission is to seek out extraordinarily talented musicians up to 15 or 16 years of age.
The competitors are judged by an international jury over the course of two rounds. The first round is completely anonymous and based on the evaluation of the competitors’ recordings. The final round takes the form of a public concert held at the Rudolfinum.
The competition is organised by Czech Radio and the Academy of Classical Music. With its membership since 1988, the competition is one of the long standing members of EMCY.
Czech Radio – Concertino Praga
Academy of Classical Music
The participants should be aged up to 16/18/21 years old.
The competition has two rounds.
Every year
The deadline for submission of application and delivery of competition recordings for the 1st round is March 31, 2025 for both competition categories.
Application requirements:
• recordings of the individual competition pieces in the WAV/PCM format – 16/24 bits – 44.1/48kHz;
• a full video recording of the realization of the competition recordings which the jury will view in the case of any doubts associated with how the competition recordings were made (this can be realized using a mobile telephone, as the jury will not take the video quality into account);
• the competitor’s profile up to a maximum of 1000 characters;
• five professional photographs of the competitor in print quality, including the photographer’s name (at least 300 dpi);
• the complete sheet music (without any personal markings);
• a copy of the competitor’s passport (in the case of foreign competitors);
• the repertoire for the 2nd round of the Competition – at least 2 pieces set for solo instrument and orchestra.
The competition recommends that the recordings should be made using professional equipment in the appropriate facilities (for example, in association with a radio station, EBU member). Any reduced quality on the recording can unfavorably influence the way it is evaluated. (The jury may be unable to differentiate between what has been caused by the recording quality and what is the result of the artist’s performance). Therefore, please pay sufficient attention to the quality of the recording.
The rules are listed as competition statue on the official website.
The jury will determine 4 advancing to the final round in each competition category. At the same time, the jury will determine 1‒2 substitutes for the final round in each competition category. If they cannot fulfill their role as a substitute due to the 100% participation of the designated finalists, these contestants get the opportunity to perform with piano accompaniment or a solo repertoire without piano accompaniment at a concert as part of the “Talent Stage” of the Dvořák Festival Prague 2025.
The organizer will notify those who advanced to the final round of the Competition or became substitute finalists of this fact in writing, via the e-mail address specified in the application form or by telephone within 10 working days of the jury’s decision.
e) In the Solo Play I category for piano, violin, viola, cello, harp and accordion, advancing contestants will be invited to a live competition performance with an orchestra in the Dvořák Hall Rudolfina as part of the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, accompanied by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, which takes place on 13/09/2025.
The competition for the year 2025 is held:
a) in the category Solo performance I. in the following instrument fields: violin, viola, cello, piano, harp and accordion.
b) in the category Solo game II. in the following instrument fields: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn and trombone.
c) The competition is open to young musicians of all nationalities, with the exception of applications from applicants who are citizens of the Russian Federation for the duration of the armed conflict in which the Russian Federation is participating in the now internationally recognized territory of Ukraine. In the event that the geopolitical situation on the territory of Ukraine changes by the time of the Competition, the condition for accepting applications from applicants who are citizens of the Russian Federation is the recognition of the changed geopolitical structure of Ukraine by the international community and the Czech Republic.
Participation in the Competition is age-restricted:
4.1. In the category Solo performance I. for piano, violin, viola, cello, harp and accordion as follows:
a) in the instrumental fields of piano and violin , musicians who are under the age of 16 at the time of the final public competition round (i.e. born on 14 .9. 2009 and later).
b) in the instrument fields of viola, cello, accordion and harp , musicians who are under the age of 17 at the time of the final public competition round (i.e. born on September 14, 2008 or later) may participate in the Competition .
All instrumental disciplines in groups a) and b) in the Solo Play I category are evaluated together.
4.2. In the category Solo game II. for the transverse flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn and trombone as follows:
in the instrumental fields of transverse flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn and trombone , musicians who at the time of the event can participate in the competition of the final public competition round will not be 18 years old (i.e. born on 13 September 2007 or later).
All instrument disciplines in the category Solo play II. they are evaluated together.
1. The recording for the 1st round in the total range of a minimum of 20 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes will be provided by the performer at his own expense. Recordings with footage shorter than 20 minutes will be excluded from the Competition. Listening to recordings that exceed 30 minutes can be shortened by the jury.
2. For the competition repertoire, it is recommended to choose from different stylistic periods. In the case of baroque or classicist compositions, the part of the keyboard instrument can be interpreted both by the piano and by the originally prescribed keyboard instrument.
In both categories, the following can be included:
a) compositions for a solo instrument unaccompanied by another instrument,
b) compositions for a solo instrument with piano accompaniment,
c) an instrumental concerto or its movement with piano accompaniment, except for piano concertos. The length of such a composition may not exceed 50% of the total footage. For the purpose of a competition recording, a recording of a performance of a concert composition accompanied by an orchestra cannot be used.
3. Recordings must be made between 1/6/2024 and 31/3/2025 in a studio or during a public performance, as a live recording without subsequent editing (it is always a recording of the interpretation of the entire one-sentence piece or phrase without interruption) . Multi-movement compositions can be recorded one movement at a time, each movement must be saved on a separate track and must not be edited. Recordings must not be subject to any European Broadcasting Union (EBU) broadcasting rights or mechanical rights (IFPI).
4. The evaluation of the contestant by expert juries also affects the maturity of the contestant’s selection of the competition repertoire, taking into account the promotion of the work of Antonín Dvořák and other Czech authors.
5. The organizer publishes a list of recommended compositions, the performance of which has a positive impact on the evaluation of competition performances, may be one of the evaluation criteria. Special prizes from foundations caring for composers’ musical legacies may also be tied to their performance. These prizes will be continuously published on the Competition website. The list of recommended compositions is published in a separate document on the Competition website .
1st prize – EUR 5,000 and the Czech Radio Prize
2nd prize – EUR 2,800
3rd prize – EUR 1,700
Honorary recognition 1st degree – EUR 700
Financial prizes are awarded in the form of special-purpose scholarships by the Karel Komárek Family Foundation or other partners of the Academy of Classical Music and are reimbursed by the Academy of Classical Music.
Laureates of the Concertino Praga and holders of honorable mentions will perform at the concerts of the Concertino Praga South Bohemian Festival on 15-19 September 2025.
www.rozhlas.cz/concertino_english
