Tension on the strings
11th International LOUIS SPOHR Competition | Young Violinists in Weimar in fall 2026
Anyone who wants to win here needs plenty of time to prepare: in around a year's time, a renowned violin competition in Weimar will once again serve as a meeting place, source of inspiration, and career springboard. The University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar invites the best young violinists to the 11th International LOUIS SPOHR Competition | Young Violinists from October 29 to November 7, 2026.
In a preliminary round via video and three live rounds, an international jury of renowned violin teachers, soloists, and chamber musicians will evaluate young musicians aged 7 to 21.
The Spohr Competition enjoys worldwide renown and regularly attracts exceptional talent from more than twenty countries to Thuringia. In addition to works by the competition's namesake Louis Spohr, participants present a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, Beethoven, and Paganini to contemporary compositions.
“The final round will be accompanied by our university's outstanding orchestra,” says jury chairman Prof. Dr. Friedemann Eichhorn. Depending on their age category, the finalists will play violin concertos by Mozart, Bruch, or Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
There are prizes and special prizes worth a total of more than €17,000 to be won. At the prize winners' concert on November 7, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the Weimarhalle, the award-winning participants will perform with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra. The registration deadline is June 15, 2026.
“We can look forward to ten days in which Weimar will become the center of international young violin talent,” says the jury chairman and Weimar violin professor, Dr. Friedemann Eichhorn. “It is very moving to see the naturalness and dedication with which these young people bring their music to life on stage and make it tangible for the audience. And it fills us with joy and pride that many former prize winners and participants in the competitions are now active on international stages.”
Since its founding in the 1990s, the Weimar Spohr Competition has developed into one of the most internationally renowned events for young instrumentalists. Around 100 violinists from more than 20 countries worldwide compare their skills, meet like-minded people, and establish contacts and friendships.
Former prize winners have gone on to enjoy success at the ARD Music Competition, the Leopold Mozart Competition, and the Tchaikovsky Competition. Many now hold important positions in orchestras, e.g., as concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, or the Philharmonia Orchestra London.
Louis Spohr was the German Paganini, a true virtuoso violinist. And not only that: Spohr (1784–1859) also composed as fast as the wind, writing nearly 300 works that are often found on the music stands of violinists around the world.
The fifteen violin concertos, ten symphonies, thirty-six string quartets, and numerous operas and oratorios by the versatile concertmaster, conductor, music festival organizer, and educator are an indispensable part of the repertoire. Spohr worked as a musician and kapellmeister in Gotha, Erfurt, and Nordhausen, writing an important chapter in Thuringian music history.
Further information:www.hfm-weimar.de/spohr
[30 October 2025]