OPEN CALL

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OPEN CALL ⋆

BRING THE CHARMS OF “SALON

VIOLIN MUSIC” BACK TO LIFE AGAIN

AMADEUS Festival Vienna announces the second International Salon Music Violin Competition “Violins&Soul”, to give visibility, promote and support the best talented young musicians from all over the world, as well as to bring the charms of “Salon Violin Music” to life again.

 RULES AND REGULATIONS

FIRST.AIM

  1. AMADEUS Festival Vienna announces the second Salon Music Violin Competition, "Violins&Soul” that will reward the best young musicians at an international level.

  2. Participants guarantee the authorship and originality of the performances presented, as well as the absence of third-party rights over them, being responsible for any claims that may be made in this regard.

SECOND.ELIGIBILITY

  1. Talented young musicians aged between 15 and 35 years on 31 December 2025 (both inclusive) are eligible. 

  2. The participation must be individual. Collaborative or collective performance will not be admitted.

THIRD.REQUIREMENTS

Repertoire:

Candidates should submit pieces of “Salon Music for Violin solo” of contrasting styles with or without piano accompaniment.

The total performance duration must be at least 40 minutes but not more than 60 minutes.

The Submitted performances must comprise the following pieces: 

COMPULSORY PIECES

1) One of the 24 Caprices by Paganini (ca.2.28-4.50 mins) 

2) Romance by Amy Beach Op.23 (ca.5.55 mins)

3) Liebesleid by Kreisler (ca.3.46 mins)

4) Capriccio No.3 Op18 (ca.2.14 mins) OR No.4 Op18 (ca.1.44 mins) by Henryk Wieniawski

* All compiled must be under 15 minutes

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CHOOSE EITHER LIST A OR LIST B 

* Repertoire Compilation must not exceed more than 30 minutes.

List A

1) Compulsory | Sonata A Major Op.100 (1st Movt) by Johannes Brahms (ca.8.16mins) 

2) Compulsory | Vocalise Op34 No.14. by Sergei Rachmaninoff (ca.7.33mins)

3) Piece(s) from Women Composers*

List B

1) Compulsory | Sonata for violin in A Major (3rd movement) by Franck (ca.7.25 mins)

2) Compulsory | Meditation (from Thaïs) by Jules Massenet (ca.5.12 mins)

3) Piece(s) from Women Composers*


WOMEN COMPOSERS*

  • Sicilienne for violin and piano by Maria Theresia von Paradis (3 mins)

  • Capricious Op.18 by Cecile Chaminade (5.22 mins)

  • Oberek No.1 for violin and piano by Grażyna Bacewicz (2 mins)

  • Adagio by Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn (4.14 mins)

  • 3 Romances for violin and piano Op.22 by Clara Schumann (10 mins)

  • Nocturne for violin and piano by Lili Boulanger (1911) (3.43 mins)

  • Romance by Teresa Carreño (3.59 mins)

  • Sonata No.1 Op37 for violin and piano by Louise Farrenc (6.32mins) 

*Candidates must choose one or more pieces from the “Women Composers” list. 

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OPTIONAL: Candidates may choose or suggest their own Salon piece(s) to meet the required total duration on top of the compulsory pieces. 


1. APPLICATION

1.1. For the initial screening round, candidates will perform violin solo with or without piano accompaniment. All works must be performed from memory.

1.2. The performance should be recorded with a single stationary camera. The musician’s entire body must be visible in the video. Editing of the video recordings is not permitted. The selected works must be performed with no repeats.

1.3. All applications must be made using the form provided in the following link: “VIOLINS&SOUL” COMPETITION 2025 

No other methods of submissions will be accepted. A non-refundable 50 EUR application fee must be paid via bank transfer at the time of application form submission. The bank payment reference should be as follows:


Firstname_Lastname_Amadeus Festival Violin Competition 2025.

Name of account holder: Themes Vienna Ltd. & Co. KG

IBAN-Code: AT231200010026187285

Bank: UniCredit Bank Austria AG

Bank Address: Jakov-Lind-Straße 13, 1020 Vienna, Austria

Telephone Number: 0043(0)50505-0

Sort Code (BLZ): 12000

Account Number: 10-026-187-285

(BIC)SWIFT-Code: BKAUATWW

1.4. Applications without payment will not be accepted.

1.5. Any questions or inquiries regarding the participation process should be addressed through the email: info@amadeusfestival.wien.

2. SELECTION FOR THE SCREENING ROUND 

2.1. Judging Criteria 

Technical Proficiency: Mastery of the technical aspects of performance, including precision, control, and execution.

Interpretation: Depth and originality in conveying the emotion, meaning, and style of the piece.

Repertoire Selection and Creativity: Thoughtfulness and creativity in assembling the programme. The approaches to the central theme of the festival that give visibility to the women composers will also be considered. 

2.2. Selection Process 

Selected candidates will be informed by email and will be invited to a personal interview with Mrs Karen Goh and Dr Wilson Goh, in person or via remote conferencing. 

3. FINAL ROUND

3.1. Finalists will be invited to the final round of the competition of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna 2025. This performance will be evaluated by our appointed Jury and the attending Public.


3.2. All finalists will be required to attend the Janoska Ensemble Workshop on 25 June 2025. Please note that the workshop is complimentary for all finalists.

3.3. The Programme of the Final Competition on 27 June 2025: 

  • Part One: Finalists will perform one or more of the compulsory pieces selected by the Jury. The performance will be behind the curtains. 

  • Part Two: Finalists will perform works from the submitted repertoire selected by the Jury. The performance will be without curtains.

3.4. Piano accompaniment will be arranged for all finalists. The accompanists will be decided and assigned to the finalists by AMADEUS Festival Vienna. If the finalists wish to bring their own piano accompanists, the costs (including travel, lodging, professional fees and all other expenses) will be borne by the participants.

FOURTH.SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINE

Application forms, including all required documents and videos/links, must be submitted by the deadline. The application period will officially open on 18 October 2024 at 12:00 p.m. (CET). The deadline will be on 18 March 2025 until 11:59 p.m. (CET). 

FIFTH.BOARD OF JURY

  1. PATRON JURY:

    a) Mrs Karen Goh - Director of AMADEUS Festival Vienna

    b) Dr Wilson Goh

  2. INVITED JURY: AMADEUS Festival Vienna may, at their discretion, invite jury members of good standing to join the Board of Jury for the final round. 

  3. PUBLIC JURY: Live audience will vote for the Public Prize during the finals of the competition on 27 June 2025. 

SIXTH.AWARDS

A.GRAND PRIZE:

  • 5.000 EUROS

  • Two years loan of the 1709 Antonio Stradivari violin from the Goh Family Collection

B. SECOND PRIZE:

  • 3.000 EUROS

  • May be offered the loan of a violin from the Goh Family Collection at the discretion of the Patrons

C. THIRD PRIZE:

  • 1.000 EUROS

  • May be offered the loan of a violin from the Goh Family Collection at the discretion of the Patrons

D. PUBLIC PRIZE: 500 EUROS

1. The prize money will be paid via bank transfer. 

2. Finalists will be required to perform at the Janoska Ensemble concert on Sunday 29 June, 2025. The programme shall be decided by AMADEUS Festival Vienna. The Grand Prize winner will be required to perform at the AMADEUS Festival Vienna 2026. The 1st and 2nd runners-up may also be invited to perform at the Festival in 2026. In addition, all prize winners may also be invited to performances organised by the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. 

3. COMPETITION FINALISTS: Finalists will receive full festival passes to the AMADEUS Festival 2025. The accommodation of the finalists in the first-class Boarding House of "AMADEUS International School Vienna" (breakfast included) will be covered by AMADEUS Festival Vienna.

Check-in for finalists

Date:  23 June 2025

Check-out for finalists

Date: 30 June 2025

The finalists are fully responsible for providing the required documents, such as promotional materials, personal documents, and police checks, in a timely manner.

SEVENTH.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Participants authorise the reproduction, distribution and public communication of the material (Videos and soundtracks) presented, as well as their adaptation to the necessary support for the purpose of their communication. These materials will become part of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna archive. In the event that the AMADEUS Festival Vienna uses any image in acts of public communication, it will always mention the name of its author.

  2. The candidates selected according to the previous paragraph authorise and give AMADEUS Festival Vienna the necessary rights to disseminate the images and videos through their social networks and other platforms. The candidates will not accrue any financial compensation for this concept.

  3. AMADEUS Festival Vienna will exclusively obtain the rights for the use, reproduction, distribution, public communication and adaptation to the necessary support of the winning candidates of the Board of Jury.

  4. All candidates selected for the finals of the competition agree to participate and cooperate in promotional campaigns (on different platforms and media) before, during and after the AMADEUS Festival Vienna.

EIGHTH.JUDGMENT OF THE JURY

  1. Winners will be announced during the AMADEUS Festival Vienna on 27 June 2025 after the final performances.

  2. The jury's decision will also be communicated through the competition website and the social networks of AMADEUS Festival Vienna.

  3. The jury’s decision is final. No appeals will be entertained. 

NINTH.RIGHT OF EXCLUSION

AMADEUS Festival Vienna reserves the right to disqualify any participant from the competition if any of the following circumstances occur: 

A. When the participant, in any way, manipulates (fraudulent or artificial) their participation in the competition.

B. When the jury considers that the work:

  • does not fit the theme convened;

  • contains elements that in any way can be considered contrary to fundamental rights and public liberties;

  • induce, incite or promote hatred, criminal, denigrative, discriminatory, violent actions, in general, contrary to law or public order;

  • are protected by any intellectual or industrial property rights;

  • violate the right to honour personal and family privacy;

  • constitutes advertising or that incorporate elements that may damage the normal functioning of the network, system or computer equipment. 

C. When these rules are breached in any way.

TENTH.DISCLAIMER

AMADEUS Festival Vienna is exempted, and not held responsible for the non-compliance of the participants in the field of intellectual, industrial or image property, as well as any responsibility that could derive from the breach or defective fulfilment by the participants in the competition of the present rules.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL HERE