When will the competition take place?
From Sunday, 26 April to Saturday, 9 May 2026

Where will the competition take place?
Registration, first round and semi-finals: Haus Marteau, Lichtenberg
Finals and gala concert: Ballroom of the Freiheitshalle Hof.

Who can participate?
Violinists of all nationalities born after 8 May 2001. There will be no preliminary selection. (No videos or recordings need to be submitted!)
Students of our competition's jury members are not eligible to participate. A student is defined as anyone who has received lessons from a jury member for more than six months between October 2025 and April 2026 or in the past. Violinists who attend a master class with a jury member between January 2026 and April 2026 are also excluded from participating in the competition. 
Persons who are or were related to a jury member of the competition are not eligible to participate.

Registration:
Registration is only possible online. The registration deadline is 31 January 2026.
A fee of €120.00 is payable upon registration.
This fee includes the sheet music for the commissioned composition and the compulsory piece by Marteau.

Can I bring my own pianist?
Yes, please indicate on your registration form whether you will be bringing your own pianist.

Sheet music for Marteau and Blackford:
The sheet music for ‘Kopfkino’ by Richard Blackford and for Marteau Caprice No. 14 will be sent to you digitally after registration.
A printed version will be available when you register on 26 April.

You can download the competition rules here.

Accommodation:
We have a number of host families who offer free accommodation for the duration of the competition. Allocations are made by the competition office.
We can only consider accommodation requests for family members and/or accompanying persons for underage participants and in exceptional cases.
On request, we can also send you a list of hotels/holiday apartments.