Oskar Nedbal International ViolaCompetition Prague

21/07/2026

Thank you dear The Strad ❤️❤️❤️

16 violists have been selected to participate in the live rounds of the Oskar Nedbal International ViolaCompetition Prague – congratulations! 🎉 Read the full list of competitors via the link in comments

20/07/2026

Today, we are announcing the results of the First Round of the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition!

First of all, we would like to thank every violist who applied.

With 132 applications from around the world, this has become the largest edition in the history of our competition. Even more importantly, the artistic level was truly exceptional. Our international jury was deeply impressed by the quality of the performances, making this the most challenging First Round selection we have ever faced.

Congratulations to all the semifinalists!

To everyone who took part, thank you for placing your trust in our competition and for sharing your artistry with us. It has been a privilege to listen to your performances, and we sincerely hope that many of you will continue your musical journey with us and apply again in the years to come.

We look forward to welcoming the semifinalists to Prague this autumn!



The 2026 semi-finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Diego Alvarado Sanchez (Venezuela/Chile, 2005)
Vincenzo Calcagno (USA, 2002)
Junyan Du (China, 2008)
Linda Emilia Emilsson (Germany, 2005)
Andreas Grimstad (Norway, 2001)
Jaeyun Han (South Korea, 2010)
Jianxiu Jiang (China, 2004)
Tabea Ockert (Germany, 2002)
Momoka Okada (Japan, 2001)
Laura Primavesi (Germany, 2003)
Hannah Teufel (Germany, 2001)
Antoine Thévoz (Switzerland, 2005)
Guilherme Tomás (Portugal, 2003)
Jeonghwan Yoon (South Korea, 1997)
Pengxi Zhu (China, 2005)
Jinglin Zhou (China, 2002)

03/07/2026

✨ We are overwhelmed — and honestly speechless.

Applications for the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition are now officially closed, and we still can't quite believe it:

🎻 132 incredible violists
🌍 40 countries and territories represented
🏆 The highest number of applications in the competition's history

To every single applicant – thank you. Your trust means the world to us. We are excited, humbled, and deeply grateful for this extraordinary response.

It is also a great responsibility for us and a powerful motivation to keep working hard and make the competition even better every year.

At this moment, we are processing your applications and, by this evening, all jury members will receive the videos and begin their evaluations. Ahead of them are fourteen wonderful days filled with inspiring viola music.

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. 🎻❤️

29/06/2026

⏰ 84 hours left. Not that we're counting… 👀
The application deadline for the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition 2026 is on July 2nd.
Your viola is ready. Are you? 🎻✨

🎥 Video Round I
📅 Application deadline: July 2, 2026
🌍 Open to violists up to 30 years old

28/06/2026

🎻 We are delighted to announce that our long-time partner, Pirastro will once again support the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition 2026!

The winners and selected participants will receive wonderful prizes from Pirastro, whose strings are trusted by violists and string players all over the world.
A huge thank you to Pirastro for their generous support and for being part of our competition journey. We truly appreciate your continued partnership!

18/06/2026

🎻 We are happy to share that GEWA remains one of the valued partners of the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition 2026.

This year, three outstanding GEWA viola cases will be awarded to our prize winners. Combining protection, comfort, and elegant design, GEWA cases accompany musicians on concert stages all over the world.

Thank you, GEWA, for your continuous support of young violists and for being part of this year's competition!

18/06/2026

Dear friends,

this is a friendly reminder that the application deadline for the 8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition is July 2, 2026.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

8th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition 2026 ❤️🎻🎶

October 29 - November 1, 2026, Prague, Czech Republic
Application deadline - July 2nd, 2026

06/06/2026

MEET OUR OFFICIAL PIANISTS!

Karel Vrtiška was born in 1990 in Prague, where he studied with Professor M. Tomanová at the Ilja Hurník Elementary School of Fine Arts and later with Professor J. Toman at the Music School of Prague.

In 2010, he completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under doc. B. Krajný. He earned a Master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg with Professor W. Manz in 2012, supported by a merit scholarship, and completed a second Master’s degree at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Professor M. Kasík in 2015.

His first success came in 1999 with 1st prize in the Prague round of the ZUŠ competition and 2nd prize in Prague Junior Note. He subsequently won numerous awards, including 1st prizes at the Carl Czerny International Piano Competition (2001) and Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte in Ústí nad Labem (2005), as well as laureate titles at the International Smetana Competition in Plzeň, Beethoven’s Hradec and the Vítězslav Novák Competition. In 2016, he received 2nd prize at the International Beethoven’s Hradec Competition.

As a soloist, he has performed under conductors including Paul Freeman, Libor Pešek, Marco Ivanović and Peter Vrábel, appearing with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc and other leading Czech ensembles.

He has recorded for Czech Radio, Czech Television and the BBC, and participated in masterclasses with Paul Badura-Skoda, Garrick Ohlsson, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrei Gavrilov and Pinchas Zukerman. In Ottawa, he performed at the final concerts of Zukerman’s masterclasses in Tabaret Hall and the National Arts Centre.

Vrtiška has given a solo recital at the Prague Spring Festival and appeared in subscription series of the Czech Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc and the Bach for All Festival. Alongside his solo career, he is an active chamber musician, performing at festivals in Moscow, Kyoto and New York. Since the 2016/2017 season, he has been included on the Czech Music Fund’s List of Young Artists. He currently works as an accompanist at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the Prague Music High School.

01/06/2026

MEET OUR OFFICIAL PIANISTS!

We are thrilled to welcome this year's official pianists and deeply appreciate their musicianship, flexibility and invaluable contribution to the Competition.

KEN NAKASAKO
Japanese pianist Ken Nakasako is a distinguished soloist and collaborative artist currently based in Berlin. A top graduate of the Toho Gakuen College of Music, where he studied under Fujiko Yamada and Shigeo Neriki, Ken moved to Germany in 2016 to attend the University of the Arts Berlin. There, he earned his Master’s degree with honors under Pascal Devoyon and Rikako Murata, and he is currently completing his Konzertexamen with Lucas Blondeel.

Ken’s technical precision and artistry have earned him top honors at several prestigious competitions, including first prize at the Swedish International Duo Competition and second prize (no first prize awarded) at the Arthur Schnabel Piano Competition.

Since 2019, Ken has served as a faculty member at UdK Berlin. A sought-after partner for strings, he is frequently appointed as an official pianist for major international competitions, including the Max Rostal, Markneukirchen, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and Oskar Nedbal competitions.

21/05/2026

We are absolutely delighted that the outstanding baroque ensemble Barocco sempre giovane will once again be partnering with our finalists! You can listen to their wonderful performance with last year’s laureates here - https://youtu.be/Rw3sETOEMpk?is=4fmcw8VXvuWfSp5Z

BAROCCO SEMPRE GIOVANE