Now streaming live
28 Participants in the Second Round of the International LOUIS SPOHR Competition
The 11th International LOUIS SPOHR Competition for young violinists is currently underway at the Weimar Music University. Of the 60 invited participants, a total of 28 have now advanced to the second round. Since Monday, November 2, they have been performing live in the Festsaal Fürstenhaus as well as via livestreamat www.hfm-weimar.de and on the university’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/hfmfranzlisztweimar.
Ten violinists from the youngest Category I, as well as nine violinists each from Age Categories II and III, have advanced to the second round. They come from all over Europe and Israel, from various countries in Asia, the U.S., and Canada. A total of 251 young violinists from more than 40 countries had applied for 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 will then take place with the university orchestra, conducted by Prof. Ekhart Wycik, in the concert hall of the Music High School Schloss Belvedere.
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.
Since its founding in the 1990s, the Weimar Spohr Competition has developed into one of the most internationally renowned venues for up-and-coming 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—thereby 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
[November 2, 2026]