Announcement of the 50th annual International Radio Competition Concertino Praga, 2016
This year we are celebrating the fiftieth birthday of the international radio competition, Concertino Praga. The idea of organising an international competition for young musicians was conceived by Czechoslovak Radio’s Department of Music for Children and the Young at the beginning of 1966.
Since then the competition has greatly influenced the careers of many musicians. Its laureates include Václav Hudeček, Shizuka Ishikawa, Leonid Gorokhov, Radek Baborák and many others. This jubilee year will undoubtedly see great music talents as well.
Concertino Praga 2016 has been announced in following categories:
PIANO | VIOLIN | VIOLONCELLO | GUITAR
Performances of the compulsory compositions:
PIANO
Jiří Gemrot: Povídka pro klavír (released by Czech Radio)
Vítězslav Novák: Songs of the Winter Nights (one of the four songs may be selected)
VIOLIN
Adam Skoumal: Valse capricieuse (released by Czech Radio)
Josef Suk: Quasi una ballata no. 1 from Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17
CELLO
Lukáš Hurník: Andro Verdan Variations (released by Czech Radio)
Bohuslav Martinů: Variations on a Theme of Rossini – for cello and piano
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Lukáš Sommer: Canzona e toccata per chitarra (released by Czech Radio)
Milan Zelenka: Unfinished Variations on a Theme of Jana Obrovská
The score are available on request by the competition organizer
About competition
The competition may be entered by musicians who do not exceed the age of 17 in the year when their competition recording is made and submitted. The competitors’ must not exceed the age limit of eighteen years in the year of the laureates’ concert, i.e. in June 2016.
The international competition is preceded by the Concertino Praga National Radio Competition, in which a five-member jury selects the best candidates who advance to the international contest to represent the Czech Republic. Young musicians from all over the world participate in the international competition by means of professional recordings, out of which a seven-member jury consisting of renowned international artists selects the best. Because the candidates’ identities are strictly concealed, the decisions of the jury are impartial.
The recordings and registrations for the competition are arranged for by the members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the International Music Council (IMC) and the European Music Council (EMC). The competition is a member of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) and is held under the auspices of the EBU.
Every year, Concertino Praga culminates with a festive concert in Prague’s Rudolfinum, where the prizewinners defend their first places before an audience and before radio microphones. This concert is followed by the traditional South Bohemian Concertino Praga Festival. During this tour in five cities the winners give performances in the beautiful halls of South Bohemian chateaus.
Czech Radio releases the overall winner’s own CD and a compilation CD containing a selection of the other laureates’ recordings awarded in the competition. The organiser also offers the laureates other concert opportunities not only during the particular year but also in the following years. Since 2012 Czech Radio has been commissioning the compulsory pieces for the selected solo instruments from Czech composers so as to support the contemporary generation of composers and to promote Czech music worldwide.
