The ARD International Music Competition

The ARD International Music Competition is one of the most renowned and large-scale competitions of its kind. It was founded in 1952 by the public broadcasting radio stations of the Federal Republic of Germany, is managed by Bavarian Broadcasting in Munich and takes place every year in September.

For many of today’s world-famous artists, an award from the ARD International Music Competition represented a springboard to their major careers: Jessye Norman, Francisco Araiza, Christoph Eschenbach, Mitsuko Uchida, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuri Bashmet, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Heinz Holliger, Maurice André, Trio Wanderer, Antoine Tamestit and the Quatuor Ebène to name but a few.

Over the years, the ARD International Music Competition with its annually changing line-up of musicians, has developed into an internationally singular and highly regarded institution, and as always we are very excited to see what’s in store for the 2024 edition.

The 73rd ARD International Music Competition 2024 in Munich is open for the following categories: Wind Quintet, Voice, Oboe and Violoncello. The invitation to participate in this competition is extended to young musicians, who are ready to launch an international career.

It is one of the toughest music competitions in the world with a very large repertoire and four rounds. The final is accompanied by one of the world’s best orchestras – the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The competition will be conducted from 3-20th September, 2024 (including the prize-winners’ concerts), and all auditions are open to the public.

We asked competition organisers what we can expect from this year’s edition and they said: “It is difficult to say now in which way this one will be different. We will see it in the process. However, one thing we can share – we have had a record number of applications this year!”

This only further proves the competition’s reputation for being one of the best of its kind, as it is a sought after accolade, a known prestige in an artist’s career ladder.

One reason for its huge success is also that artistic growth is an inherent part of the competition’s journey, as every participant has the opportunity to receive feedback from the jury, whether they progress to the final or not. In addition, everyone has a chance to play in front of large audiences, which can present its own opportunities, especially as there are always agents and concert organisers in attendance.

Since 2001 the ARD International Music Competition Munich has also been organizing a number of annual Chamber Music Festivals to which prize-winners and other outstanding participants from previous years were invited. One of the purposes of these events is to give these young musicians the opportunity to meet other artists and thus to establish personal and artistic relationships which are helpful to further their careers.

Visit https://www.br.de/ard-music-competition/index.html to keep up with new developments and how to get involved with the competition.