Open Call International Van Wassenaer Competition

After a pre-selection the ensembles are assessed by an international professional jury during the semi-final, which is open to the public. The ensembles who drop out in this round are offered a coaching session with one of the jury members. In the final, a maximum of four ensembles compete for various cash prizes and a paid concert tour. In addition, all finalists receive a masterclass voucher which they can exchange for coaching by a musician of their choice. In this way they get the chance to learn from their musical examples.

Starting in 2019, the IVWC will no longer be held every two years but annually, with a varied focus on early (Middle Ages and Renaissance), middle (Baroque / basso continuo) and late (Classical and Romantic) repertoire, performed on historical instruments.

The International Van Wassenaer Competition 2026 will take place on 2 and 4 September, with a focus on early repertoire.

More information on this website

Important information

Competition
1. The competition consists of three parts: qualifying round – semi-final round – final round

Participants
2. The competition is open to instrumental and vocal ensembles. Participating ensembles may consist of a maximum of eight persons. An individual musician may participate in a maximum of two ensembles. The participants should make use of original instruments or good replicas. The age limit for participants is 33 years as of the dates of the competition (applies to all members of the ensemble).

Repertoire
3. The repertoire for the International Van Wassenaer Competition 2025 (Late Edition) should consist of music from the Classical or Romantic period.
4. The jury wishes to emphasise the importance of playing the repertoire, where possible, in its original instrumentation. An ensemble may be disqualified for using inappropriate instrumentation. If an arrangement or alternative version is played this has to be specified including name of the arranger on the application form.

Registration
To register the applicant should:
5. Fill out the form on the website and wire the € 50,00 registration fee (nett, excl. banking costs) as detailed on the form.
6. Submit a recording of the ensemble with a minimum length of 30 minutes. The recording should consist of music of your own choice from the aforementioned period. Recordings may be submitted as mp3 files (with a good bitrate) or audio cd.
7. Submit a photo of the ensemble with a minimum size of 300 DPI at 10×10 cm. The photograph should show all members of the ensemble.
8. On registering, every participant should present programme proposals for the semi-final and final rounds. These programmes should be entered on the entry form, clearly stating composer with full name and dates, title of the piece with names of all movements and their exact lengths and scoring. Programme proposals for the semi-final and the final rounds should have a length of 40 minutes each. The jury will make a selection from the programme proposals to be played during the semi-final and the final rounds.
9. Registration deadline is 1 April 2025. Registration is fully effective only after the qualifying round. Participants will be notified accordingly before 1 July 2025.