Live stream starts with second round
The 11th International LOUIS SPOHR Competition begins on Thursday
The International LOUIS SPOHR Competition for young violinists begins on Thursday, October 29, with the drawing to determine the performance order. A total of 60 participants have been invited to compete in three age categories across the competition’s three rounds. A total of 251 young violinists from more than 40 countries applied to participate in the violin competition at the FRANZ LISZT University of Music Weimar.
Through November 7, 2026, the young violinists—aged 10 to 21—will first compete for prizes in the Festsaal Fürstenhaus. In addition to works by the competition’s namesake, Louis Spohr, the diverse repertoire ranges from Bach, Beethoven, and Paganini to contemporary compositions. Depending on their category, the finalists will perform violin concertos by Mozart, Bruch, or Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The final round, accompanied by the university orchestra under Prof. Ekhart Wycik, will then take place in the concert hall of the Music High School Schloss Belvedere.
Starting with the second round, the competition can also be viewed via livestreamat www.hfm-weimar.de as well as on the university’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/hfmfranzlisztweimar. Prizes and special awards totaling more than 17,000 euros are up for grabs.
At the winners’ concert on November 7, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Weimarhalle, the winners will perform with the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Marco Alibrando. Tickets cost 20 euros (reduced rate: 15 euros) and are available at the Weimar Tourist Information Office and at the box office.
“We can look forward to ten days during which Weimar will become the center of the international violin scene for young talent,” says the jury chair and Weimar violin professor, Dr. Friedemann Eichhorn. “It is very moving to see the natural ease and dedication with which these young people bring their music to life on stage and share it with the audience. And it fills us with joy and pride that many former prize winners and competition participants 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 venues for young instrumentalists. Former prize winners went on to achieve success at the ARD Music Competition, the “Leopold Mozart” Competition, and the Tchaikovsky Competition. Many of them went on to hold important positions in orchestras, including concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and the Philharmonia Orchestra London.
Louis Spohr was the German Paganini, a true virtuoso violinist. Spohr (1784–1859) also composed as fast as the wind, writing nearly 300 works. The fifteen violin concertos, ten symphonies, thirty-six string quartets, and numerous operas and oratorios by this versatile concertmaster, conductor, music festival organizer, and educator are an indispensable part of the repertoire.
In Gotha, Erfurt, and Nordhausen, Spohr worked as a musician and bandmaster—thus writing an important chapter in Thuringian music history.
Further information: www.hfm-weimar.de/spohr
Live stream starting with the second round: www.hfm-weimar.de and www.youtube.com/hfmfranzlisztweimar
[26 October 2026]