The cellists will compete for a prize pool worth over €40,000 from 8 to 14 September 2025
The Budapest International Cello Competition will take place from 8 to 14 September 2025 at the Liszt Academy. The competition is open to cellists under the age of 30.
The competition jury, comprising Anne Gastinel, András Keller, Jens Peter Maintz, Frans Helmerson, Gwen Starker, Santiago Cañón Valencia and István Várdai, has selected the cellists to take part in this year’s competition, following video submission. They are:
Alexandra Kahrer (Austria)
Ania Druml (Austria)
Antonia Straka (Austria)
Arne Zeller (Germany)
Caterina Isaia (Italy)
Charlotte Miles (Australia)
Emma van Schadewijk (Netherlands)
Haddon Kay (US)
Jinseok Jeong (Hungary)
LiLa (China)
Lionel Martin (Germany)
Michael Wehrmeyer (Germany)
Simon Tetzlaff (Germany)
Thomas Prechal (Netherlands/Czechia)
Woochan Jeong (South Korea)
The contestants will perform for a prize pool totalling €40,000. This includes the top prize of €18,000, €12,000 for second prize and €6,000 for third prize. Special awards for the Audience Prize and best performance of a work by Kodály will also be given out, as well as future performance opportunities with orchestras.
The first live round will see the contestants perform cello sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms, plus a work by Kodály, Ligeti, Dutilleux and Veress. Following this, a selection of participants will be chosen to perform an 18th and 19th-century concerto repertoire with the Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra.
Three contestants will progress to the final round, where they will perform a concerto by Shostakovich, Prokofiev or Dvořák with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by György Vashegyi. The concerto performance must be followed by a movement of solo Bach.
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