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The 31st Leoš Janáček International Competition took place from 15–21 September at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, Czech Republic. This year, the competition was open to violinists up to the age of 35 and quartets with a combined age of no more than 140 years.
In the violin division, the first prize of CZK100,000 (£3,600) was awarded to Austrian violinist Eduard Steude, additionally receiving sheet music from Editio Janáček and Bärenreiter as special prizes. Steude previously won the third prize in the violin division of the 2024 International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach.
Polish violinist Gaja Wilewska won the second prize of CZK70,000 (£2,500), as well as the CZK10,000 (£350) prize for the best interpretation of a work by Janáček. The third prize of CZK40,000 (£1,400) went to Chinese violinist Jiaqi Lu, along with the prize for the best interpretation of Gallop for Violin Solo by Adam Závodský. The three finalists each received a set of strings from Warchal and violin care from Atelier Bursík.
An honourable mention was given to Czech violinist Aliaksandra Arbuzava, along with Warchal strings, sheet music from Editio Janáček and a performance engagement for the Days of Young Performers concert, to be held in Brno in 2026. The special prize of the jury was awarded to Czech violinist Patrik Sedlář.
This year’s violin jury comprised Aistė Dvarionaitė, Shizuka Ishikawa, Hana Kotková, František Novotný, Eszter Perényi and Tomasz Tomaszewski, with Bartosz Bryła as chairman of the jury. In the final round, the violinists were accompanied by the Czech Virtuosi Orchestra and conductor Leoš Svárovský at the Besední dům in Brno.
In the quartet division, the CZK100,000 (£3,600) first prize went to the Arola Quartet from Switzerland, as well as the CZK20,000 (£700) prize for the best interpretation of a composition by Janáček; concert engagements in 2026 for the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival in Ostrava, the Janáček Festival in Brno and the International Music Festival for the Treasures of the Broumov Region; sheet music from Editio Janáček and Bärenreiter; sets of Warchal Strings; and an additional set of cello strings from Clarina Music.
The second prize of CZK70,000 (£2,500) was awarded to the Valegro Quartet from the UK, and the third prize of CZK40,000 (£1,400) to the Janečkovo Quartet from the Czech Republic.
The Arola Quartet comprises violinists Samuel Hirsch and Alla Ternova, violist Viktoria Vanteeva and cellist Zoia Sudnis. Its members have studied at the Stauffer Academy of Music with the Cremona Quartet since September 2024,; the group previously won first prize in the chamber music category of the American Classical Music Awards in New York and the second prize at the Premio Annarosa Taddei in Rome.
The quartet division’s jury comprised Fox Chan, Ľudovít Kanta, Lukáš Polák and Ján Slávik, with Bohuslav Matoušek as chairman.