The competition aims to encourage children and young people who enjoy making and composing music and putting their musical skills to the test, and who want to achieve something special in music to participate and through this to find and promote as many musical talents as possible. It is one of the three competitions organised by ‘Musik der Jugend’.
At a conference of the state cultural representatives on 6th May 1994, the Austrian federal states decided to take on sole governing responsibility for the Austrian Youth Music Competitions MUSIK DER JUGEND (Music of Youth) with the support of the Federation, to set up a common office, and to carry out the competitions. The organisation and the functioning are regulated by an administrative agreement of the nine federal states and rules of internal procedure. The Board of Trustees is the deciding body on federal level. The expert jurisdiction rests with the Federal Expert Board.
Musik der Jugend
The participants should be up to 19 years old.
Regional stage followed by national final in a different Austrian town every year.
Every year
22nd of May – 6th of June 2026
Eisenstadt – Joseph Haydn University
The registration for the competition is exclusively online.
Age groups:
| AG A | 7 years or younger (only regional level) |
| AG B | 8 – 9 years (only regional level) |
| AG I | 10 – 11 years |
| AG II | 12 – 13 years |
| AG III | 14 – 16 years |
| AG IV | 17 – 19 years |
The competition is for young people who fulfill one of the following criteria:
• Austrian citizenship
• from South Tyrol
• from Lichtenstein
• Main residency in Austria since 1st of January 2025
The competition is held on state and national level. The laureates from the
state competitions are invited to compete on the national level.
Prima Female Composers 2026
The Federal Advisory Board MUSIC OF YOUTH strongly encourages the inclusion of works by female composers in the competition program.
Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Cécile Chaminade and Olga Neuwirth – great names as examples of important female composers. Many works by women have still not been able to gain the recognition they deserve in the world of classical music and among the general public.
MUSIK DER JUGEND therefore pays special attention to women composers and awards the special prize prima female composers 2026 for the best interpretation of a work by a female composer at the national competition prima la musica for the fourth time. Candidates for the special prize prima female composers 2026 can expect a certificate and a cash prize.
First prize winners of the regional competitions are invited to participate in the national competition. All participants of the competition receive a certificate. All prize winners of the national competition receive a ”prima la musica” medal. The special prize prima female composers will be awarded for outstanding interpretations at the national competition prima la musica 2026.
MUSIK DER JUGEND, in cooperation with numerous partners, awards special prizes every year special achievements at the national prima la musica competition. In this context we would like to explicitly point out the following special prize.
– WSY-Talent: Young Talent Award from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and prima la musica. For the sixth time, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra is asking selected winners of the Prima la musicaPLUS national competition as soloists on stage. The winners of one The final audition will perform together with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the direction of a renowned conductor.
www.musikderjugend.at
