The finals will see five competitors perform a Mozart concerto, with three proceeding to the grand finals
Five violinists have proceeded to the final rounds of the Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM). They are: Koshiro Takeuchi, Sara Watanabe, Bade Dastan, Laurel Gagnon and Aozhe Zhang.
The finals will take place at the Maison symphonique de Montréal in two rounds. The first round consists of five violinists performing a Mozart violin concerto and the second will see three grand finalists perform a concerto from a provided list. The competitors will perform with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal alongside conductor Sascha Goetzel in both rounds.
Both Takeuchi and Watanbe will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto no.1 in B flat major, Gagnon and Bastan will perform no.4 in D major and Zhang will play no.3 in G major.
Prizes and grants for the 2026 edition exceed a total value of CAD150,000. The first prize comprises of a cash prize of CAD30,000, plus a career development prize of CAD40,000.
Second and third prizes are worth CAD25,000 (CAD15,000 cash prize and CAD10,000 career development prize) and CAD20,000 (CAD10,000 cash prize and CAD10,000 career development prize) respectively, and numerous special prizes and performance engagements will also be awarded.
Lucie Robert chairs the 2026 competition jury, which comprises Ju-Young Baek, Glenn Dicterow, Simin Ganatra, Yuzuko Horigome, Régis Pasquier, Barry Shiffman and Pavel Vernikov.
CMIM has been held annually since its inception in 2002, rotating between disciplines of violin, piano and voice. The 2023 violin edition was won by Dmytro Udovychenko.
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