Prague Spring International Music Competition
Flute Category:
Philippe Bernold (France), Emily Beynon (UK), Christina Fassbender (Germany), Barthold Kuijken (Belgium), Václav Kunt (Czech Republic), Jan Ostrý (Czech Republic), Karl-Heinz Schütz (Austria).
Main Prizes (per category):
🥇 1st Prize – CZK 250,000 (title of Competition Laureate)
🥈 2nd Prize – CZK 150,000
🥉 3rd Prize – CZK 100,000
Notes: Only one 1st Prize may be awarded per category. The jury reserves the right to divide or withhold prizes.
Additional Awards:
Honourable Mention (First Grade): CZK 10,000 (for finalists without a main prize)
Audience Prize: CZK 25,000 (Friends of Prague Spring)
Czech Radio Prize: Free studio recording & broadcast for the best laureate
Czech Music Fund Foundation Prize: CZK 20,000 for best performance of the commissioned work
Prize of the City of Prague: For the most successful laureate
Bärenreiter Prize: Gift voucher for sheet music from Bärenreiter Praha/Kassel
Special Prizes (for Czech Participants):
Oleg Podgorný Prize: CZK 25,000 for the youngest successful Czech participant (min. Round II)
Czech Centres Prize: Concert engagement & stay at a Czech Centre abroad
Gideon Klein Foundation Prize: CZK 20,000 for the most successful Czech participant
Mercedes Benz Prize: Car sponsorship for agreed events (Finalists or Honourable Mention)
Performance Opportunities:
1st Prize winners are invited to perform at the following year’s Prague Spring Festival.
Additional engagements are negotiated and published in the competition catalog.
ABOUT THIS COMPETITION
Founded in 1946 and first held in 1947 as part of the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Competition is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious international music competitions. Created to support outstanding young musicians at the beginning of their careers, it has become an important launching pad for generations of internationally acclaimed artists.
A founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) since 1957, the competition is held annually in Prague and features two instrumental categories each year, rotating among a broad range of disciplines including flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, piano, harpsichord, organ, violin, and cello.
The flute competition consists of three public rounds culminating in a final with orchestra in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, one of the Czech Republic’s most celebrated concert venues. Beyond its generous prize fund, the competition offers winners valuable international exposure, professional concert engagements, and an invitation for the First Prize laureate to perform at the following year’s Prague Spring International Music Festival.
For nearly eight decades, the Prague Spring International Music Competition has attracted many of the world’s finest young flutists. Its distinguished list of laureates includes James Galway, Michel Debost, Jean Ferrandis, Andrea Lieberknecht, Tatjana Ruhland, Denis Bouriakov, Yubeen Kim, Chaeyeon You, and Maël Metzger, reflecting its enduring influence on the international flute community.
2026 Competition Highlights
- A record 239 flutists applied for the 2026 flute edition.
- 48 competitors advanced to the live rounds after the preliminary selection process.
- The Final Round took place in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum with the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kaspar Zehnder.
- Competitors performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita in A minor, BWV 1013, together with Jindřich Feld’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in the final round.
- The international jury was chaired by Philippe Bernold and included Emily Beynon, Christina Fassbender, Davide Formisano, Barthold Kuijken, Václav Kunt, and Jan Ostrý.
Laureates of Previous Competitions
2026
🥇 Chaeyeon You (South Korea) – 1st Prize
🥈 Anna Talácková (Czechia) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Yuan Yu (China) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Niamh McKenna (Ireland) – 3rd Prize
2015
🥇 Yubeen Kim (South Korea) – 1st Prize
🥈 Hélène Boulègue (France) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Sunghyun Cho (South Korea) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Joséphine Olech (France) – 3rd Prize
2009
🥇 Denis Bouriakov (Russia) – 1st Prize
🥈 Tímea Acsai (Hungary) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Júlia Somogyi (Hungary) – 3rd Prize
2001
🥇 Dóra Seres (Hungary) – 1st Prize
🥉 Chiara Piccinelli (Italy) – 3rd Prize
1996
🥇 Tatjana Ruhland (Germany) – 1st Prize
🥈 Kersten McCall (Germany) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Katalin Kramarics (Hungary) – 3rd Prize
1991
🥇 Andrea Lieberknecht (Germany) – 1st Prize
🥈 Christel Rayneau (France) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Janne Thomsen (Denmark) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Dita Krenberga (Latvia) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Emily Beynon (United Kingdom) – 3rd Prize
1986
🥈 Jean Ferrandis (France) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Silke Uhlig (Germany) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Wolfgang Ritter (Germany) – 3rd Prize
1981
🥈 Ingela Øien (Norway) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Jana Pastrňáková (Czechia) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Michael Faust (Germany) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Pavel Foltýn (Czechia) – 3rd Prize
1977
🥇 Sergei Bubnov (USSR) – 1st Prize
🥈 Arife Gülşen Tatu (Turkey) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Béla Drahos (Hungary) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Daniela Čechová-Tarabová (Czechia) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Dominique Hollebeke (France) – 3rd Prize
1974
🥇 Alexander Maiorov (USSR) – 1st Prize
🥈 Alexander Golyshev (USSR) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Krisztina Solti (Hungary) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Sonja Ameln (Germany) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Barbara Müller-Haase (Austria) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Magdalena Tůmová (Czechia) – 3rd Prize
1968
🥇 Valentin Zverev (USSR) – 1st Prize
🥈 James Galway (United Kingdom) – 2nd Prize
🥈 Jaromír Hönig (Czechia) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Jevgenij Shklianko (USSR) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Rumiana Petrova (Bulgaria) – 3rd Prize
1959
🥇 Jan Hecl (Czechia) – 1st Prize
🥇 Michel Debost (France) – 1st Prize
🥈 Werner Tripp (Austria) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Alexander Murray (United Kingdom) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Louis Hébral (France) – 3rd Prize
1953
🥇 Alexander Korneyev (USSR) – 1st Prize
🥇 František Čech (Czechia) – 1st Prize
🥇 Lev Perepiolkin (USSR) – 1st Prize
🥈 Václav Žilka (Czechia) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Dimitru Pop (Romania) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Jaroslav Josífko (Czechia) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Ladislav Šoka (Czechia) – 3rd Prize