Application conditions 2026

Invitation / tender offer 2^nd International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz 2026

 Patron: Dr. Ingo Mehner, 1^st Mayor of the City of Bad Tölz - Chairman of the Jury: Krzysztof Chorzelski (Belcea Quartet) - The competition is held every three years (Triennale)

Competition framework 2^nd International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz 2026

The goal of the 2^nd issue of the International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz 2026 is promoting outstanding young string quartets and supporting them in their international career.

The competition is organized by KLANGERLEBNIS e.V. in cooperation with the City of Bad Tölz. The patron is the 1^st Mayor of the City of Bad Tölz, Dr. Ingo Mehner. Chairman of the Jury is Krzysztof Chorzelski (Belcea Quartet).

The competition is open to outstanding young string quartets from all nations worldwide, whose members should not be over 35 years old the day of the competition and the cumulative age of the entire quartet should not exceed 128 years.

The competition will take place from Friday, April 10^th to Sunday, 12^th, 2026 in the Gabriel von Seidl Concert Hall of the Kurhaus Bad Tölz / Germany (quartets should arrive there latest Thursday April 09^th, 2026).

Afterwards, three concerts with the top three competition winners will take place on the evenings of Monday to Wednesday April 13^th, 14^th and 15^th, 2026, in the Gabriel von Seidl Concert Hall of the Kurhaus Bad Tölz.

Application Conditions

Who is invited to participate?

Outstanding young strong quartets from around the globe are invited to apply for the competition. The cumulative age of all four musicians on the first day of the competition (April 10^th, 2026) should not exceed 128 years and the oldest player should not be older than 35 years on the first contest day.

What do you need to do to be invited to the competition?

You will need to submit the following (see also below in the section: List of information and
documents to be provided together with the application form):

1. Two reference letters from teachers recommending your participation in this competition
2. Two recorded videos of the requested works for application (professional recordings preferred) to be submitted to the competition jury
3. A minimum of two license free professional photos: Portrait and Landscape format: high-resolution in jpg format (min. HD 300 dpi)
4. The application conditions can be downloaded from the website:
   www.quartettissimo.de/competition-badtoelz-2026/application-mode/
5. To apply for the competition the submission of the completed application form with all requested information and documents is required.

To receive the application form from us, you just have to send an e-mail with the name of the quartet, country the quartet is based, name of the contact person, e-mail address and phone number to Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. a few weeks before October 15^th, 2025.

Within a week after this, you will receive the application form with all instructions from us. Completed application form with all attachments, like two videos of the requested works, photos, reference letters etc. must be upload till October 15^th, 2025.

1. A transfer of the non-refundable application fee of Euro 190 (one hundred ninety) to confirm your application to the account provided below.

Everything mentioned before must be submitted by no later than October 15^th, 2025 = deadline!

What will happen after your submission?

The jury will evaluate all submissions with focus on the two videos and the reference letters.

Up to 10 young quartets will be selected and invited for participation at the 2^nd International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz 2026.

A second form will be sent to the selected up to 10 quartets for detailed program sequence for a winners' concert, if applicable, at April 13^th, 14^th or 15^th, 2026 as well as all travel / accommodation arrangements. This will take place after selection of the invited quartets on January 19^th, 2026.

What are the important dates / timelines?

• Before October 15^th, 2025: Your intent to apply for participation: this should be announced with a simple e-mail any time before October 15^th, 2025 together with the request of the application form
• October 15^th, 2025, is the deadline for application: video recordings, documents, photos, completed application form and administration fee to be submitted. By sending the competed application form you agree with all conditions of participation in the competition.
• January 19^th, 2026: announcement of the up to 10 participating quartets by the jury, e-mailed to the selected quartets
• March 1^st, 2026: final completion of second application form to be e-mailed by participating quartets (program and travel / accommodation arrangements)
• April 9^th, 2026: latest day of arrival in Bad Tölz
• April 10^th – 12^th, 2026 competition rounds at Gabriel von Seidl Concert Hall in Bad Tölz
• April 13^th, 2026: announcements of the winners
• April 13^th, 2026: 3^rd place winner concert
• April 14^th, 2026: 2^nd place winner concert
• April 15^th, 2026: 1^st place winner concert

Important: Please be aware of the date: January 17^th, 2027: The 1^st winner will be invited to the 2^nd TÖLZ WINNER SUMMIT 2027 in Bad Tölz together with other 1^st winners of worldwide important string quartet competitions 2024/2025/2026: this date must be blocked in your calendar.

Quartets and jury members will arrive on Thursday, April 09^th, 2026. Accommodation and meals during competition days between April 10^th to April 12^th and – if needed – taxi transfers between the hotel and the concert hall in Bad Tölz (10 minutes by walk) will be provided by the organizer, for winning quartets accommodation and meals will be extended until April 13^th, April 14^th and April 15^th, respectively.

On April 09^th, 2026 the invited quartets will have the opportunity to stay at low budget hotels and familiarize themselves with the acoustic in the concert hall. This night or any night prior to April 10^th must be paid by the participants as well as any optional stay after the official days of the competition.

Sequence of selection rounds before and during the competition

Qualification for the competition = Off-side Application Round
As part of the application, the completed application form including the above documents, fotos and videos must be submitted to be reviewed by the Jury. This pre-selection is made in the Application Round off-side.

Onside Rounds
for the up to 10 participants after invitation to Bad Tölz. Each of the three rounds of the competition (Main Round, Semi-final Round, Final Round) will be held at the Auditorium of the Kurhaus Bad Tölz, Ludwigstraße 25, D-83646 Bad Tölz.

The three competition rounds will be open to the public. The three winning finalist concerts are organized as evening concerts with audience.

• Main Round
  Scheduled for Friday, April 10^th, 2026, after introductory remarks at 10:00 a.m. as follows: 10:15 a.m. to 13:15 p.m. (quartets 1-4), 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (quartets 5-8) and 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (quartets 9-10). The order of the presentations of the quartets will be alphabetical. The jury may only allow excerpts from individual works from of the Main Round of the competition to be performed and/or may select from the submitted repertoire at its choice. Up to six quartets will be selected for the semi-final round after the auditions on the evening of April 10^th, 2026.

The selected six quartets for the Semi-final Round and the order of the presentations on April 11^th, 2026 (by drawing lots) is determined on the evening of April 10^th, 2026.

• Semi-final Round
  Is planned for Saturday, April 11^th, 2026: 10 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. (quartets 1- 3), 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (quartets 4-6). The order of the preludes is according to the drawing lots on the evening of April 10^th. Up to four quartets will be selected by the jury for the Final Round on Sunday, April 12^th, 2026 after the auditions on the evening of April 11^th, 2026.

Final Round participants and the order of the presentations on April 12th, 2026 (by drawing lots) will be announced on the evening of April 11^th, 2026.

• Final Round
  On Sunday, April 12^th, 2026, the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd winners will be determined between the selected out of the four quartets. Concerts are 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. (quartets 1-2) and 14:00 p.m. to 16:15 p.m. (quartets (3-4).

The verdict on winners will be on Sunday, April 12^th, 2026, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Where possible, Urtext Editions should be used.

Winners´ concerts
The three winning quartets will be presented in evening concerts on Monday, April 13^th (3^rd place winner), Tuesday, April 14^th (2^nd place winner) and Wednesday, April 15^th 2026 (1^st place winner), at 7:30 p.m.

Concerts will take place at the Gabriel von Seidl Concert Hall of the Kurhaus in Bad Tölz with a program sequence of their choice.

Winners’ award ceremony and press conference
The award ceremony and the press conference of the winners will take place on Monday, April 13th, 2024, 12:00 a.m. in the City Hall of Bad Tölz.

Prizewinner participation is expected to receive their awards in person.

Which repertoire will be expected?

Qualification for the competition = Off-side Application Round

In the Off-side Application Round, each quartet must submit two different complete quartets,
one out of Beethoven op. 18, 1-6, and a second one of their own selection from either epochs Romantic/Late Romantic/Impressionism or Modern.

Onside Rounds for the up to 10 participants after invitation to Bad Tölz

For the Main Round, each invited quartet is asked to select three works of their choice from each of the three periods: Classical and Romantic/Late romantic/Impressionism and Modern. Please note selection in your application form:

• Classical: one work from the following Haydn quartets: op. 20, 1-6; or op. 33, 1-6;
  or op. 50, 1-6; or op. 54, 1-3; or op. 55, 1-3; or op. 64, 1-6; or op. 71, 1-3; or op. 74, 1-3;
  or op. 76, 1-6; or op. 77, 1-2.
• Romantic/Late Romantic/Impressionism: one work of either Schubert D 804, D 810, D887;
  or Mendelssohn Bartholdy op. 13, 12, 44,1-3, 80; or Hensel op. 12; 0r Meyer op. 14;
  or Schumann op.41,1-3; or Brahms, op. 51,1, 51,2, 67; or Smetana No. 1, No. 2;
  or Dvořák, op. 96, 105, 106; or Janacek No. 1, 2; or Debussy op. 10; or Ravel F-Dur, M.35.
• Modern: Schönberg, op. 7, 30, 37; or Webern op. 5, 9, string quartet 1905; or Berg op. 3 or Lyrische Suite; or a substantial work after 1920: Shostakovich: one of the 15 string quartets; or Ligeti Nr. 1, 2; or Xenakis: Tetras; or Penderecki Nr. 1-3; or Rihm: Nr 4, 9; or Widmann, Nr. 1-4, 10; or Hans Winterberg: Nr. 1-4; or any substantial quartet from 1920 up to now including works by Adés, Berio, Birtwistle, Dutilleux, Ferneyhough, Gubaidulina, Harvey, Kurtág, Lachenmann, Lutoslawski, Poppe, Saunders, Tailleferre and others.

The Main Round of the competition in Bad Tölz consists of a presentation of one quartet from each of the three epochs with a maximum duration of 40 minutes (individual movements selected by the jury during the presentation from the three quartets specified by the competition participants).

In the Semi-final Round, we ask you to perform the following pieces in full:

• new contemporary work of Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula; and
• one out of Mozart late quartets KV 387, 421, 428, 458, 464, 465, 499, 575, 589, 590.

The new contemporary work of Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula will be submitted to the invited quartets directly after selection on January 19^th, 2026, by electronic means.

In the Final Round, we ask you to perform the following pieces in full:

• one out of Bartok quartets Nr. 1-6; and
• one out of Beethoven quartets op. 59,1-3, 127, 130 (optionally with 133), 131, 132.
  
  

Who will be in the jury?

The international Jury consists of:

• Krzysztof Chorzelski as Chairman, Founding member and Violist of Belcea Quartet, London, UK.

Further jury members from Europe and USA will be:

• Mark Steinberg, Professor of Chamber Music at Manhattan School of Music, New York, USA, and Violinistof the Brentano String Quartet, Yale, USA
• Oliver Wille, Professor of Chamber Music at HMTMH, Hannover, Germany, and Violinist of the Kuss Quartet, Berlin, Germany
• Jonathan Brown, Violist, Professor of Chamber Music for the Colburn Conservatory and on the chamber music and viola faculty for Colburn’s Music Academy, San Francisco, USA, former member of the Cuarteto Casals, Barcelona, Spain
• John Myerscough, Violoncellist of the Doric String Quartet, London, UK
• Estelle Choi, Violoncellist of the Calidore Quartet, New York, USA
• Andrea Hampl, Artist agent, Konzertdirektion Hampl, Berlin, Germany; represents string quartets from all over Europe and USA / Canada as well as many other artists, and will offer career counseling for the winning quartet
• Holger Busse, Sound engineer / Managing director, GENUIN classics, Leipzig, Germany.
  GENUIN recording group will organize recording of a classical album with subsequent worldwide digital release on all download and streaming platforms.

Prizes

€ 42.000 in total, plus concert invitation and career counseling

• Susanne and Christoph Kessler Grand Prize for the 1^st winner (non-divisible)
• KLANGERLEBNIS Prize for the 2^nd winner
• Renate and Henning Schulte-Noelle Prize for the 3^rd winner
• GENUIN classics Special Prize for the recording of a classical album with subsequent
  worldwide digital release on all download and streaming platforms (non-cash-prize)
• KLANGERLEBNIS Special Prize for the best interpretation of the contemporary work
• Boosey&Hawkes Special Prize for the best interpretation of a Winterberg string quartet
• Esterhazy Special Prize for the best interpretation of a Haydn string quartet and invitation
  to perform at a concert at Schloss Esterhazy in March 2027
• Henle Urtext Sheet Music and Library App Special Prize (non-cash-prize)
• Audience Award of the City of Bad Tölz
• Career counseling for the 1^st winner of competition
• Invitation of the 1^st winner to the 2^nd TÖLZ WINNER SUMMIT on January 17^th 2027
  
  

Amount of prizes

• € 12.000: Susanne and Christoph Kessler Grand Prize: 1^st winner of competition
• € 8.000: KLANGERLEBNIS Prize: 2^nd winner of competition
• € 4.000: Renate and Henning Schulte-Noelle Prize: 3^rd winner of competition
• € 8.000: GENUIN classics Special Prize (non-cash prize): Special Prize for the recording of a classical album with subsequent worldwide digital release on all download and streaming platforms
• € 3.000: KLANGERLEBNIS Special Prize: Special prize for the best interpretation of the contemporary work:
• € 3.000: Boosey&Hawkes Special Prize: Special prize for the best interpretation of a Hans Winterberg string quartet
• € 2.000: Esterhazy Special Prize: Special Prize for the best interpretation of a Joseph Haydn string quartet and invitation to a concert at Schloss Esterhazy in Eisenstadt:
• € 1.000: Henle Urtext Special Prize (non-cash prize): Sheet music voucher for 1.000 € or000 credits (one voucher of 2.500 credits for each quartet member) for the Henle Library App
• € 1.000: Audience Award of the City of Bad Tölz
• Invitation: The 1^st winner will be invited to the 2^nd TÖLZ WINNER SUMMIT 2027 in Bad Tölz together with other 1^st winners of important string quartet competitions 2024/2025/2026 worldwide on January 17^th, 2027. 1^st winner shall give this event priority over any other engagements entered into either by the quartet itself or by its agent if there is one representative. This date has to be blocked in the calendar of the 1^st
• Coaching: The 1^st winner will be coached by the concert agency Andrea Hampl Konzertdirektion, Berlin (konzertdirektion.de) (career counseling)

Prizes will be awarded gross of tax-related charges.

All prizes are decided by the jury members, in case of special prizes agreed with the representative of the award sponsors.

The jury is at liberty to leave one or more prizes unawarded. The First Grand Prize is indivisible and may not be awarded jointly. If the First Grand Prize in not attributed, then the 2^nd Prize may be awarded jointly to a maximum of two finalists. In case of no First Grand Prize and only one 2^nd Prize, the 3^rd Prize may be awarded jointly to a maximum of two finalists.

The special prizes are indivisible and may not be awarded jointly.

Application Details, Terms and Conditions

Application period

• The application publication start is October 15^th, 2024, the deadline for quartet application is October 15^th, 2025.
• Age: Primarily outstanding young string quartets of any nationality worldwide can apply, whose total age of all four quartet members on the day of the beginning of the competition at April 10^th, 2026 does not exceed 128 years, and no member can be over 35 years old at April 10^th, 2026.
• Registration fee: There is a registration fee of 190 €. Proof of payment of the admission fee have to be sent in addition to the Application form with the name of the quartet to the following address: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

Application procedure

• To apply for the competition the submission of the completed application form with all requested information, videos and documents is required.
• To obtain the application form you have to send a request for this application form by e-mail to Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. prior to October 15^th, 2025. The requested application form will be e-mailed to you within a week.
• This application form has to be completed with the requested information, videos, fotos and documents. Your completed application form with all requested information, videos, fotos and documents has to be sent to Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. at October 15^th, 2025 at the latest.

Filling in the application form

• The application form must be completed in English and supplemented with the required information, videos and documents.
• The application form contains fields to be filled with text or storing links or files based on the list of information or documents as given below. In case you have problems in downloading please contact Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein..
• Documents must be completed electronically and submitted in Excel, Word, PDF or MP4 format. All material has to be license free and – if existing – contain copyright information.
• The submitted materials will not be returned and deleted at the end of the contest.
• Incomplete documentation will result in disqualification from the competition.

List of information and documents to be provided together with the application form

• Copy of each member's passport or identity card showing the name and the date of birth.
• Age of the four quartet members at April 10^th, 2026, and the total age of all four quartet members at April 10^th, 2026
• Portrait or landscape photography of the quartet in high resolution in jpg format, in color, without copyright, which can be directly published (HD 300 dpi), and, if available, the logo of the quartet in high-resolution in jpg format (HD 300 dpi).
• Artistic curriculum vitae of the quartet and the four quartet members in continuous text (ready for printing), containing previous education and teachers for the past three years.
• Two recommendation letters for the quartet, specifically written for the competition dated not later than July 1^st, 2025: from the teacher of the last three years of the quartet and/or one or two musicians, at least one of whom has a quartet background.
• If exclusive agency contracts with agents, similar organizations or record companies are in force, a declaration of these institutions is required in which the quartet can fulfill all obligations that are necessary for participation in the competition, in particular with regard to the obligation associated with the 1^st prize of career counseling and the concert at January 17^th, 2027.
• Two audio recordings: Unlisted link to youtube: Recordings of at least two different complete quartets, one out of Beethoven op. 18,1-6, and a second in own selection from the different epoches Romantic/Late Romantic/Impressionism or Modern. If possible live recordings should be provided with videos of professional recording quality, in which all quartet members and their play can be seen openly, which have been recorded after May 01^st, 2025 with a stable camera without interruption (even between the different movements of the same piece) and without editing any kind of piece. Manipulation of tone pitches or lengths within completed sentences are not permitted. The second piece could be used in the Main Round section.
• Title of the three works prepared for the main round at April 10^th, 2026, title of the prepared work in addition to the contemporary work for the Semi-Final Round at April 11^th, 2026, and title of the two prepared works for the Final Round on April 12^th, 2026. The submitted competition program is binding. Subsequent changes are not possible.
• Written confirmation of the reservation / participation at a concert date at January 19^th, 2027 in Bad Tölz.
• Full address of the quartet contact person, bank details and mobile number.
• Bank transfer of the admission fee of 190 € (only in Euro and free of charge for the recipient) to the following bank account:

KLANGERLEBNIS e.V.
Sparkasse Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
IBAN: DE87 7005 4306 0012 0741 59
Swift Code (BIC): BYLADEM1WOR
Subject: Application fee + name of quartet.

• The name of the quartet must be stated in the remittance slip. The payment must be made exclusively in Euro currency. The participation fee will not be refunded in the event of non-invitation or hindrance or cancellation.
• Name, address, email and phone number of quartet member, representing the complete quartet.

After the deadline at October 15^th, 2025 no application to participate can be accepted. Incomplete documents and missing payment of the admission fee of 190 € prior to or at October 15^th, 2025 lead to exclusion from the competition.

A maximum of 10 (ten) quartets will be admitted to the competition.

All applying quartets will receive a confirmation of their application not later than Monday November 17^th, 2025, and the up to ten selected invited quartets are invited to the International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz 2026 by Monday January 19^th, 2026 at the latest. The decision of the jury on admission to the competition will be communicated by e-mail. The decisions are incontestable, no explanations will be given.

Streaming

Competition at April 10^th, April 11^th, and 12^th, 2026 will be streamed in full length.

The competition management reserves the right to use excerpts from the streamings of competition rounds, which may be used to promote for the prizewinners and to document the competition.

The competition management also reserves the right to use the streamings in audio and/or audiovisual form, by itself or through third parties, on analog and/or digital audio/video/visual data carriers including platforms, regardless of the format or process, commercially and non-commercially to exploit or have exploited and to distribute or have it distributed.

The declaration of consent required for this by the winners is deemed to have been given upon registration for the music competition; the same applies to the transfer of rights in accordance with the above provisions.

The prizewinners are not entitled to any additional remuneration.

Recognition of the conditions

• With the application, the applicants declare that they waive any legal remedies against the competition and have no legal claim to the granting or payment of any funding promised by the organizer.
• Instruments must be self-insured.
• By registering for the competition, the participant recognizes the conditions of participation and competition as well as the decisions of the pre-jury and the jury as binding.
• Applications that do not meet the requirements of the competition may be rejected.
• Each quartet should not leave Bad Tölz during their onside participation unless otherwise agreed to with the competition management. By registering, each quartet declares that it agrees to take time off from all professional obligations or concerts for the duration of the competition.

Jurisdiction

• The competition regulations are published in English.
• Only the English text of this tender offer is binding. Subject to change without notice!
  In case of doubt, this tender offer text will be applicable.
• KLANGERLEBNIS e.V. reserves the right in any case, at its own discretion and whatever the circumstances, to decide to cancel the Competition and to take any decisions relating to organization and participation in the Competition.
• A preselected quartet which fails to compete at any stage in its original form at inscription (i.e., if a player is replaced) will be disqualified.
• A change in the composition of the quartet is not possible after invitation.
• The Court of Wolfratshausen shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all legal disputes.

Organization of the competition and contact for information:
KLANGERLEBNIS – Non-profit association for the maintenance of music e.V.

Icking, October 15^th, 2024

i.A. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Christoph Kessler, Head of Organization
Schlossbergweg 11, D-82057 Icking, Germany
e-Mail: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.; Internet: www.quartettissimo.de

Impressum

v.i.S.d.P.: KLANGERLEBNIS – Non-profit association for the maintenance of music e.V. 
in cooperation with the City of Bad Tölz
Schlossbergweg 11
D-82057 Icking, Germany
e-Mail: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.
Internet: www.quartettissimo.de