Conditions

The announcement and the Conditions of the 2023 Concertino Praga – Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition for Young Musicians

Article 1: Announcement

1. Czech Radio and the Academy of Classical Music hereby announce the 57^th annual 2023 Concertino Praga – Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition for young musicians (hereafter also simply referred to as the “Competition”).

2. The Concertino Praga – Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition takes place under the patronage of the European Broadcasting Union (www.ebu.ch) and the Karel Komárek Family Foundation.

3. Concertino Praga is a member of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (www.emcy.org).

Article 2: The categories

The 2023 competition will be opened:

a) in the solo performance category on the following instruments: violin, violoncello, piano, cembalo, accordion, harp, guitar, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, French horn, saxophone and trombone.

b) in the chamber ensemble category in the following groupings: DUO | TRIO | QUARTET | QUINTET | SEXTET. The instrumental composition of the individual groupings is arbitrary; each ensemble may only include one keyboard instrument.

Article 3: The registration deadline

The deadline for submitting registrations and delivering the competition recordings for the 1^st round is 31^st March 2023 for both categories.

Article 4: The competition categories, instruments and age limits

Participation in the competition is limited by age:

4.1 In the solo performance category:

a) musicians who are under the age of 16 as of the date of the Competition’s public final round will be entitled to participate in the competition on the following instruments: violin, violoncello, piano, cembalo, accordion, harp and (i.e. those born on 15.9.2007 or later).

b) musicians who are under the age of 18 as of the date of the Competition’s public final round will be entitled to participate in the competition on the following instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, French horn, saxophone and trombone (i.e. those born on 15.9.2005 or later).

All of the instruments in the solo performance category will be evaluated together.

4.2. In the chamber ensemble category:

musicians, whose average ages do not exceed the age of 20 as of the date of the Competition’s public final round, i.e. 15^th September 2023, may perform in the ensembles ranging from duos to sextets. The oldest ensemble member must not be older than 21 as of the date of the public final competition, i.e. 14^th September 2023.

Article 5: The method of registering in the competition

A candidate may personally register in the Competition’s solo performance category or may be registered by his or her legal guardian, by a registering organisation, which may be the music school where the competitor studies the given instrument, or by a radio organisation. Each organisation can enter a maximum of five candidates in the Competition regardless of the instruments which the candidates play.

An ensemble may personally register in the Competition’s chamber ensemble category or may be registered by the members’ legal guardians, by a registering organisation, which may be the music school where the competitors study their given instruments, or by a radio organisation. Each organisation can enter a maximum of five candidates in the Competition regardless of the size of the ensemble and the instruments which the candidates play.

Article 6: The form of registering in the Competition

1. Registration is only possible using the form, which can be found online on the Competition’s website: concertinopraga.cz.

2. Upon registering, each competitor will receive a competition code, which she should then be used to label all the required materials.

3. The following items must also be submitted along with the registration form:

a) recordings of the individual competition pieces in the WAV/PCM format – 16/24 bits – 44.1/48kHz.

We recommend that the recordings should be made using professional equipment in the appropriate facilities (for example, in association with a radio station, EBU member). Any reduced quality on the recording can unfavorably influence the way it is evaluated. (The jury may be unable to differentiate between what has been caused by the recording quality and what is the result of the artist’s performance). Therefore, please pay sufficient attention to the quality of the recording.

b) a full video recording of the realization of the competition recordings which the jury will view in the case of any doubts associated with how the competition recordings were made (this can be realized using a mobile telephone, as the jury will not take the video quality into account),

c) five different professional photographs of the competitor / ensemble in print quality (at least 300 dpi), including the photographer’s name and written consent to use them,

d) complete sheet music for the competition recordings (without any personal markings),

e) a copy of the competitor’s passport or ID.

4. The performer will make the recording for the 1^st round at a total length of at least 20 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes at his or her own expense. Recordings lasting less than 20 minutes will be excluded from the Competition. The jury will be able to shorten any recordings which exceed 30 minutes.

5. It is recommended that the competition repertoire should consist of a selection of different stylistic periods. The piano part may be replaced with a cembalo in the case of early music, i.e. original baroque or classical pieces.

6. The competition repertoire for the solo performance category may also include works for solo instrument without the accompaniment of any other instrument. If the competition repertoire contains an instrumental concerto or any of its movements with piano accompaniment, the competition repertoire must also include a work originally designated only for solo instrument or originally accompanied by another instrument. An exception to this rule involves those works that are authorized to be accompanied by piano or works which have been included in the list of recommended competition works. In the case of any works not listed in the list of recommended works, it is necessary to provide the organizers with substantiation of the participant’s authorization to perform them, either with a historical source or a reference.

Recordings of works made at public concerts must have been realized at a corresponding technical quality so that they can be used in radio broadcasts.

Chamber ensembles must perform works that have been originally composed for the given chamber formation. This may involve a transcription, if the ensemble does not have a traditional composition, but the individual instruments must have balanced roles within it. In the case of a duo, this must not involve a concerto piece with the second instrument as the accompanist.

7. The application to participate in the Concertino Praga competition is also a declaration as to the fact that the competitors (if they are the creators of the competition recording) or the applying organization and the competitors (if the applying organization is the creator of the competition recording), whose performances are to be evaluated, will be subject to the provisions of this Statute and the Competition Conditions. At the same time, this declaration also constitutes the provision of a temporally and territorially unlimited license for the use of the sent competition recording in radio and audio-visual broadcasts and streaming and on-demand use on the websites of the Concertino Praga competition, Czech Radio, the Academy of Classical Music and the competition’s official partners. This license will apply to the rights of the performing artist and the creator of the audio and audio-visual recording. This license approval will also apply to the creation of all audio and audio-visual recordings or broadcasts of the candidate’s competition performances, which arise during the candidate’s participation in the competition throughout the period of its duration, including any participation at the subsequent South Bohemian Concertino Praga festival which follows immediately after the conclusion of the final competition performance of the Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition for Young Musicians. The promoter will secure the broadcasting rights and the internet dissemination rights in relation to the authors of the music or the publishing houses.

Article 7: The evaluation of the performances

1. The recordings must have been made in the period between 1^st June 2022 and 31^st March 2023 either in a studio or during a public performance and must take the form of a live recording without any editing (this must always involve a recording of an entire single-movement piece or of an entire movement without any interruptions). Multiple-movement works must be recorded in their individual movements and each movement must constitute an independent track on the recording. The recordings must not be subject to any broadcasting rights of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) or any mechanical rights (IFPI)

2. The evaluation of the competitors by the expert juries will also be influenced by the maturity of the selection of the competitor’s competition repertoire, while taking into account the promotion of works by Antonin Dvořák and other Czech composers.

3. The organizer will publish a list of recommended works in the solo performance category, the performance of which will have a positive impact on the evaluation of the competition performances, may be one of the evaluation criteria and may be associated with special prizes from foundations involved in caring for the composers’ musical legacies. These prizes will be published regularly on the Competition’s website. The list of recommended works has been published in a separate document on the Competition’s website.

The organizer will not publish a list of recommended works for the chamber category due to the great variety of musical groupings and the involved instruments. However, the organizer recommends taking the works of Czech authors into account when putting together the repertoire, as their inclusion may be one of the evaluation criteria and may be associated with special prizes from foundations involved in caring for composer’s musical legacies, as in the case of the solo performance category.

Article 8: The course of the Competition

The solo category:

The 1^st round

a) The organizers are entitled to assess the recording quality within ten days of the registration deadline (by 10.4.2023, inclusive). If the quality is insufficient, the organizers may request the provision of a recording in the appropriate quality and to do so at the latest by 30.4.2023. If the recording continues to be unsuitable, it will not be included in the competition.

b) The recordings will be assessed by the jury by 12. 5. 2023.

c) The jury will designate a maximum of 4 candidates to progress through to the public final round. At the same time, the jury will designate 2 understudies for the public final round who will perform their solo repertoire in a concert on the “Talent stage” at the Dvořák Prague 2023 Festival, if they do not get the opportunity to perform in the final due to all of the jury’s 4 finalists being able to perform.

d) The organizer will inform the candidates who have progressed to the Competition’s final round in writing using the email addresses set out in the registration forms and will do so within 10 business days of the jury’s decision.

e) The qualifying candidates will be called upon to undertake a live performance with an orchestra as part of the Dvořák Prague International Music festival, which will take place on 16^th September 2023.

f) The candidate or his or her registering organisation will confirm the candidate’s intention of continuing in the Competition within 5 business days of receiving the notification of having progressed into the final round. If any of the candidates fail to confirm their intention of doing so, another candidate will progress through to the final round according to the order designated by the competition jury during the Competition’s 1^st

g) The names of those competitors who have not progressed into the finale, have not been named as understudies and have not received any awards will not be announced to the jury or the public.

The public final round

a) The final round will take place in the form of a public concert with an orchestra as part of the 2023 Dvořák Prague International Music Festival on 16.9.2023. The competitors will choose one of concertante pieces set for competitor’s solo instrument and orchestra. This means single or multiple-movement instrumental concertos and not individual movements from works.

b) The candidates are required to be physically present at the Competition venue, i.e. in Prague, at least 3 days prior to the holding of the public final round for the purpose of rehearsals with the orchestra. The same condition also applies to the designated understudies, provided it is known that any of the finalist will not be attending the final round final.

c) The candidates are guaranteed 2 rehearsals with the orchestra in a rehearsal room and a dress rehearsal at the final round venue, which will be the Dvořák Hall in the Rudolfinum in Prague.

d) The performance will be recorded by Czech Radio with the possibility of a live broadcast in both audio and audio-visual form. All of the candidates’ rights pertaining to the creation of the artistic performance have been set out in Article 6 paragraph 7.

e) The Competition jury will sit directly after the completion of all the competition performances at the public concert and will decide on the winners of the prizes and any honorable mentions.

f) The jury will announce its decision at the same public concert, where the Competition’s prize- giving ceremony will also take place on stage.

g) The winners of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes will become Competition laureates.

h) The principles for awarding the prizes are set out in the Competition’s Statutes.

The chamber ensemble category:

The 1^st round

b) The recordings will be assessed by the jury by 12. 5. 2023.

c) The jury will pick a maximum of 4 qualifying ensembles to proceed into the final round. At the same time, the jury will also designate at least 1 chamber ensemble as an understudy for the final round final, which will perform in a concert on the “Talent stage” at the Dvořák Prague 2023 Festival, if it does not get the opportunity to perform in the final due to all of the jury’s 4 chosen ensembles being able to perform.

d) The organizer will inform the ensembles which have progressed to the Competitions public final round (the final round) in writing using the email addresses set out in the registration forms and will do so within 10 business days of the jury’s decision

e) The qualifying ensembles will be called upon to undertake a live performance as part of the Dvořák Prague International Music festival which will take place on 15^th September 2023.

f) The ensemble or its registering organisation will confirm the ensemble’s intention of continuing in the Competition within 5 business days of receiving the notification of having progressed into the final public final round. If any of the candidates fail to confirm their intention of doing so, another candidate will progress through to the final round final according to the order designated by the competition jury during the Competition’s 1^st

g) The names of those competitors who have not progressed into the finale, have not been named as understudies and have not received any awards will not be announced to the jury or the public.

The final round

a) The final round will take place in the form of a public concert with an orchestra as part of the 2023 Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.

b) The ensembles are required to be physically present at the Competition venue, i.e. in Prague, at least 1 day prior to the holding of the public final round for the purpose of rehearsals in the hall. The same condition also applies to the designated replacement ensemble, provided it is known that any of the finalists will not be attending the final round final.

c) Each ensemble will be guaranteed 1 rehearsal and a dress rehearsal at the final round venue, which will be the Convent of Saint Agnes in Prague.

e) The Competition jury will sit directly after the completion of all the competition performances at the public concert and will decide on the winners of the prizes and any honorable mentions.

f) The jury will announce its decision at the same public concert. The Competition’s prize-giving ceremony will take place on stage in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum after the completion of the solo category performances on 16.9.2023.

g) The winners of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes will become Competition laureates.

h) The principles for the awarding of the prizes are set out in the Competition’s Statutes.

Article 9: The Competition’s juries

1. The juries for the individual rounds of the Competition and the jury chairpersons will be appointed by the Competition’s directorate.

2. The jury for the 1^st round of the solo performance category will have at least 7 members and is international.

3. The jury for the 1^st round of the chamber ensemble category will have at least 5 members and is international.

4. The jury for the final round of both categories will have at least 9 members and will consist of significant personalities from the domestic and international music scene, of whom one will be a representative of the EBU.

5. The juries in each of the competition rounds must contain different people.

6. The jury members may not have any familial relationships with any of the competing candidates.

7. If a jury member has taught any of the competitors, he or she must declare this relationship to the remaining members of the jury and the Competition directorate. The jury member will not be authorized to evaluate the given competitor in such a situation.

8. The jury members for the 1^st round of the solo performance category and the 1^st round of the chamber ensemble category may not receive any information about the Competition candidates.

9. The juries will vote secretly and anonymously on voting slips.

10. The voting of the final round jury will take place anonymously using point sheets, which the jury members will submit to the Competition organizer without any prior discussion among the jury members for the purpose of the simple summation of the points and the processing of the results.

11. The juries’ meetings will not be public, with the exception of the participation of the promotor’s authorized representatives. The juries’ decisions will be final. The meetings of all juries containing international members will be held in English.

Article 10: The Competition prizes

1. The jury in the Competition’s public final rounds may award the first, second and third prizes in the solo performance category and the chamber ensemble category. The winners of these prizes will receive the title “Laureate of the Concertino Praga competition". The jury may also award “Honourable mentions”. The jury does not have to award all the prizes. The jury will not award any prizes ex aequo (shared prizes).

2. The jury will also award other prizes, the list of which is published on the Competition’s website and is regularly updated.

3. Other prizes dedicated by the Competition’s partners may also be awarded at the suggestion of the Competition jury. These prizes will be presented by the jury’s chairperson and the prize donor.

4. One of the prizes is the Audience Prize, which is awarded on the basis of the votes of the audience members in attendance at the Competition’s final public round. This prize will be awarded by a representative of the Academy of Classical Music.

5. The 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes in the Competition may be sponsored by public institutions or private entities. They will be presented by the jury chairperson and a representative of the prize donor. The prize’s name may also include the name of the natural person or the legal entity which has sponsored it.

5. The winners of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes become the laureates of Concertino Praga.

6. The holders of the 1st, final and 3rd prizes will receive special-purpose grants in the form of financial scholarships in the amount of:
1st prize - 5 000 EUR
2nd prize - 2 800 EUR
3rd prize - 1 700 EUR
first grade honorary mention - 700 EUR

The financial prizes will be paid in the form of scholarships on the basis of the submission of the Concertino Praga prize winner’s application for an appropriate educational program and will do so by direct credit to the account of the organizer or provider of the given educational program on the basis of a payment order. The prizes may also be paid out to the winners in the form of contributions towards the purchase of musical instruments after reaching an agreement with the competition directorate and after the submission of the appropriate documents associated with the purchase of the instrument in question.

Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Award - This award is given by the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation for the best interpretation of Bohuslav Martinů's work.

The Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Endowment Fund Award - This award is given by the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Endowment Fund for the best interpretation of a contemporary music.

The Karel Komárek Family Foundation Award - This award is intended for the best Czech participant.

Czech Radio prize

The winner of the first prize will receive the opportunity to record their own CD in the Czech Radio studios. The recording will be released in a run of 200 CDs (by mutual agreement), of which the radio organisation which sent the candidate to the competition will receive 20; Czech Radio reserves the right to receive 30 copies for the promotion of the competition. The recording and release of this non-commercial CD is designed to support the most successful candidate, who can use the recording for promotional purposes.

The recording may not be used for any commercial purpose without the written consent of Czech Radio (the conclusion of a licencing contract). Czech Radio will be the issuer of the CD and the holder of rights of the audio recording’s creator. Czech Radio reserves the right to use this recording for its promotional purposes and for radio broadcasts.

Article 11: The South Bohemian Concertino Praga Festival

The laureates of the Concertino Praga – Antonín Dvořák International Radio Competition for Young Musicians are obliged to participate in the South Bohemian Concertino Praga Festival in September 2023.

Article 12: The radio broadcasts during the course of the Concertino Praga

1. The final round will be broadcast live by Czech Radio - Vltava. The organizer will do everything to ensure that this concert is broadcast live in the form of a video broadcast and in the Euroradio season via the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) during the course of 2023/2024.

2. Czech Radio – Vltava will broadcast the concerts from the South Bohemian festival either live or as recordings.

3. The organizer will provide the EBU with a pink offer of the recordings of those candidates who have been awarded the first, second and third prizes. The EBU will receive this offer within one month of the end of the jury’s deliberations.

4. The organizer will also offer the EBU broadcasts of all the concerts, both live and as recordings. The radio organizations, which have participated in the competition will bear a moral obligation to broadcast the audio recordings.

Article 13: Compensation for costs

1. The organizer will provide compensation for the following costs:

a) the transport and accommodation costs for the finalists and the designated understudies and their escorts in Prague and to the South Bohemian Concertino Praga festival, but only in the case of transport and accommodation organized by the organizer. The organizer will not cover any costs for travel or accommodation, which the laureate and his or her escort arrange themselves. If the laureates are minors, one accompanying individual is meant for each ensemble.

A Czech Radio employee will be responsible for the participants from the Czech Republic throughout the period of the aforementioned events. The accompaniment of a legal guardian is permitted, but the legal guardian must meet any associated costs.

b) The organizer will only pay the transport costs to and from the Czech Republic for the Competition finalists and the designated understudies and their escorts.

2. The winners and participants at the concerts in the Competition will not receive an honorarium from the organizer. Similarly, no honorarium will be paid to the organisation, which registered them in the competition.

3. A candidate’s escort may be either his or her legal guardian or a delegate from the organisation, which has registered the candidate in the Competition. If the escort is not the candidate’s legal guardian, the legal guardian’s verified consent for the escort will be required.

Article 14: The concluding provisions

1. By submitting a recording to the Competition, the competitor or the organisation which has registered the candidate in the Competition has provided consent for the further use of the recording by Czech Radio and the members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), especially for its use in radio broadcasts and for the further promotion of the competition (for example, the inclusion of the recordings on the websites of Czech Radio and the Academy of Classical Music). By submitting the registration to the Concertino Praga competition, the organisation and the competitor have also stated their full agreement with the Competition’s Statute and these Competition Conditions.

2. The competition may not be participated in by competitors who have previously received the 1^st – 3^rd prize in the given category. This means that competitors who have received the 1^st – 3^rd prize in the solo category may enter the chamber ensemble category and vice versa. It is not, of course, possible to enter the same category, in which the competitor has already received the title of a laureate.

3. The recovery of any prizes through the courts has been ruled out.

4. The Competition’s organizer reserves the right to change the Competition’s rules.

5. The Competition conditions have been drawn up in Czech and in English. The Czech version will be decisive in the case of any disputed interpretation.

6. The Competition Conditions are available online at www.concertinopraga.cz and www.akademieklasickehudby.cz.

7. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) are available online: www.concertinopraga.cz/faq