The International Violin Competition Henri Marteau takes place every three years at the Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg and the Freiheitshalle in Hof. Founded in 2002 by the Freundeskreis der Musikbegegnungsstätte Haus Marteau e.V., the District of Upper Franconia took over the responsibility for the competition in 2007. The Hofer Symphoniker are responsible for the artistic and general coordination.
Application rules:
Period of the competition: Sunday, April 26 – Saturday, May 9, 2026
All competitors have to register personally on Sunday, April 26, 2026 until 6 p.m. at Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg.
Applications can only be done online. After the successful online application, a confirmation will be sent by e-mail.
Application deadline: January 31, 2026
Who can participate? Violinists of all nationalities, born after May 08, 2001.
Important information:
Students of our competitions jury members are not eligible to participate. A student is someone who received tuition from a jury member between October 2025 and April 2026 or prior to the competition for a period exceeding six months. Violinists who participated in a master class held by a jury member between January 2026 and April 2026 are also not eligible to participate in the competition.
Persons who have been or are related to one of the jury members are excluded from participation.
Participation fee: € 120
This fee includes the scores and shipping of the commissioned composition and the Marteau compulsory piece.
There are two possibilities to sumit your payment:
You can use Hofer Symphoniker Webshop (payment options are SEPA-Debit, Mastercard or Visa)
or if you are unable or do not wish to use this option, please transfer the application fee to the following account for the recipient free of charge:
Account Holder: Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH
IBAN: DE85 7805 0000 0380 0233 33
BIC: BYLADEM1HOF
Bank: Sparkasse Hochfranken, Schillerstr. 3, 95100 Selb, Germany
Please specify: Henri Marteau Competition, Surname, Firstname
Distribition of charges: Sender pays all costs – option: OUR
The bank transfer is to be made in euros only; any bank charges incurred are to be covered by the applicant.
Please prepare the following documents before application:
Copy of passport (with translation if necessary)
Curriculum vitae with information on musical background, names of all teachers, prizes at competitions and concerts and recitals
Documents to support the information in the curriculum vitae
One artist’s photo (JPEG or PNG file, min. 300 dpi)
Copy of the transfer receipt for the registration fee
Awards:
First prize: 10 000 EUR
Second prize: 7 500 EUR
Third prize: 5 000 EUR
Repertoire:
First round
Johann Sebastian Bach
3. and 4. movements of a sonata for violin solo, without repeats
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1st movement and cadenza by Henri Marteau from one of the following concerti:
Violin concerto G Major, KV 216 or
Violin concerto D Major, KV 218 or
Violin concerto A Major, KV 219
Niccolò Paganini
One Capriccio from: 24 Capricci for violin solo op. 1
The candidate can choose the order of the repertoire freely.
Second round (45-50 min)
All candidates are expected to approach their performance as a concert.
The chosen repertoire must include the following pieces:
- Henri Marteau: Caprice No. 14 „Spinnrad“ from: 24 Caprices for violin and piano op. 25 (duration: ca. 5 minutes)
- Ludwig van Beethoven: 1st movement of a sonata for piano and violin
- Max Reger: one prelude from: Preludes and Fugues for violin solo op. 117
- The commissioned work “Kopfkino” for violin solo by Richard Blackford, England (duration: ca. 5 minutes)
- A virtuoso piece – to be selected from this predetermined list
The recital can be completed with one or more pieces of the candidate’s choice. Compositions by the candidate are not allowed.
The order can be chosen freely.
Bach compositions may not be played in the semi-final.
The candidate must provide a precise performance time for each piece.
The scores for Marteau and Blackford will be sent by the competition office immediately after registration.
Final round with orchestra
The final round with the Hofer Symphoniker conducted by their principal conductor Martijn Dendievel will take place in the Freiheitshalle in Hof.
One of the following concertos for violin and orchestra:
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Concerto D Major, op. 61
- Johannes Brahms: Concerto D Major, op. 77
- Antonin Dvořák: Concerto A Minor, op. 53
- Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Concerto E Minor, op. 64
- Niccolò Paganini: Concerto No. 1 D Major, op. 6
- Sergei Prokofieff: Concerto No. 1 D Major, op. 19
- Camille Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3 B Minor, op. 61
- Jean Sibelius: Concerto D Minor, op. 47
- Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski: Concerto D Major, op. 35