Budapest International Music Competition
🥇 First Prize: €18,000
🥈 Second Prize: €12,000
🥉 Third Prize: €6,000
🎖 Special Awards: For best Hungarian performer, audience favorite, and best performance of a contemporary work
(Prizes and special distinctions may vary by edition and discipline.)
The Budapest International Music Competition is one of Hungary’s oldest and most prestigious performing arts competitions, with a history dating back to 1933. Revived after World War II in 1956, it has since become a major cultural institution in Central Europe, offering categories for different instruments each year — including the flute, clarinet, oboe, violin, and voice.
The Flute Category, reintroduced in 2003, quickly earned international recognition for its artistic level and its distinguished jury, chaired by the renowned Hungarian-born flutist András Adorján, with members such as Henrik Prőhle, Béla Drahos, Akiko Mikami, Petri Alanko, Jiří Válek, and Barbara Gisler-Haase.
The competition unfolds over three rounds, concluding with an orchestral final performed with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio under the baton of Ádám Medveczky. Its blend of tradition, technical excellence, and artistry makes it a cornerstone event in the international flute calendar.
Laureates of Previous Competitions
2013
🥇 Elya Levin (Poland / Israel) – 1st Prize
🥈 Ting Wei (Taiwan) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Mikhail Khvostikov (Russia) – 3rd Prize
2003
🥇 Dóra Seres (Hungary) – 1st Prize
🥈 Megan Sterling (Australia) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Andrea Manco (Italy) – 3rd Prize
1994
🥇 Davide Formisano (Italy) – 1st Prize
🥈 Sabine Kittel (Germany) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren (Hungary) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Mathieu Dufour (France) – 3rd Prize
1980
🥇 Akiko Mikami (Japan) – 1st Prize
🥈 Robert Langevin (Canada) – 2nd Prize
🥉 Erika Sebők (Hungary) – 3rd Prize
🥉 Maria Goldschmidt (Germany) – 3rd Prize
1965
🥇 Lóránt Kovács (Hungary) – 1st Prize