The Faculty of Music of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU) organises the prestigious International Leoš Janáček Competition in Brno every year. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the flute and clarinet competition. The final rounds of the competition in both disciplines will take place at the Besední dům, where the competitors will be accompanied by the Czech Virtuosi orchestra conducted by Vít Spilka and the Ensemble Opera Diversa orchestra conducted by Gabriela Tardonová.
The international performance competition bears the name of world-famous composer Leoš Janáček and the importance of his legacy and it strives to seek out and support young artists under the age of 35. Every year, talented performers from all over the world come to Brno to showcase their skills in front of international juries of renowned experts. The five-year cycles regularly alternate between the pairs of string quartet and violin, horn and tuba, cello and double bass, piano and organ, and, this year, the flute and the clarinet.
"I am delighted to have been the patron for this international competition, which, through the work of Leoš Janáček, educates young talents, helps them discover the beauty of classical music, and at the same time strengthens the prestige of both the faculty itself and the region as a whole, not only in the musical world. And it has been doing so successfully for an impressive three decades! This year, the competition will be attended by over three hundred young musicians from all over the world. I would like to wish them the best of luck, as well as all the joy and beauty that music can bring," said Culture Minister Martin Baxa.
This year’s competition will feature a total of 133 performers, 45 flautists and 88 clarinet players, from various parts of the world, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Latvia, Finland, Hungary, France, as well as South America, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Israel.
"During my concerts abroad this year, I heard from various sources that the Leoš Janáček International Competition is considered to be a world-famous contest that introduces many outstanding personalities to Brno and the Czech Republic,” said Barbara Maria Willi, Dean of the JAMU Faculty of Music.
The panel of judges for the flute category will be chaired by Prof. Philippe Bernold from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris (France); chairing the panel for clarinet is Prof. Paolo Beltramini from Italy, who works at the Hochschule für Musik in Lucerne (Switzerland). Contestants awarded the title of laureate will not only be able to proudly wear this esteemed title, but will also receive a monetary prize. In each category, as usual, the prize for first place will be one hundred thousand Czech crowns, seventy thousand Czech crowns for second place, and the third place will receive a prize of forty thousand Czech crowns. The contestants can also be motivated by special prizes provided by the contest partners, e.g. the main contest partners Buffet Crampon (Paris, France) and Powell Flutes (Boston, USA); also, for the first time this year, there is the ČRo Brno Prize, awarded to mark the 30th anniversary of the contest and the 100th anniversary of the first radio broadcast in South Moravia. The most successful Czech winner will be given the opportunity to make a free recording in Czech Radio’s Brno studio, as well as media space.
"This international competition is celebrating a wonderful round anniversary this year and will once again offer quality performances by young musicians who want to make it big and aspire to an international career. It’s certainly a great challenge for all the competitors. The South Moravian Region has long supported this competition, this year to the tune of 440 thousand crowns," said František Lukl, Deputy Governor for Culture and Tourism.
The competition is held in three rounds for each discipline, which will take place on the same dates for both disciplines: 17-19 September (first round), 20 September (second round), and 22 September (third round). The venue for the first and second rounds is the Orlí Theatre for flute and the JAMU Concert Hall for clarinet. The final will take place on Sunday, 22 September in the Besední dům, with the flute from 11.30 a.m. accompanied by the Czech Virtuosi orchestra conducted by Vít Spilka, and the clarinet on the same day from 5.30 p.m. in cooperation with the Ensemble Opera Diversa orchestra conducted by Gabriela Tardonová. All the performances are free and open to the public.
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