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Royal College of Music

Eleventh London International String Quartet Competition 2009

Dates: 30th March - 5th April 2009 inclusive

Selected quartets will be expected to arrive in London no later than 30th March and leave on 6th April.

For the list of prizes please click here

Venues: the Preliminary Rounds will be held at the Royal College of Music; the semi-finals and Final at Wigmore Hall. Selected quartets may be asked to perform once outside the Competition timetable at lunchtime concerts in London as part of London String Quartet Week.

The Rules

  1. The Competition is exclusively for string quartets.
  2. The Competition is open to all nationalities provided the age of each musician in the quartet is under 35 years on 5th April 2009. The application form, documents and recordings must be returned to the Competition Administrator, LSQF, 41 Belmont Lane, Stanmore HA7 2PU, UK on or before 30th September 2008.
  3. Applicants must send the official application form, or a photocopy, completed in English to the Administrator, 41 Belmont Lane, Stanmore HA7 2PU, UK together with the following:
    1. Proof of date of birth for each member.
    2. Biography of the quartet's history plus details of training, awards and diplomas for each member.
    3. Two recent professional references, which should also verify the authenticity and date of each recording (see (g) below).
    4. A recent black and white photo.
    5. Details of any professional engagements of the quartet in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
    6. Confirmation whether the quartet has an exclusive contract with an agent, impresario, record company or similar organisation. If so, then the quartet should also supply written authorisation from such groups confirming their agreement to the quartet taking part in the Competition.
    7. Three recordings for the pre-Competition stage, as follows:
  4.  
    1. A CD audio recording of the quartet performing any one of Haydn's Op. 64 or Op. 76 quartets.
    2. A CD audio recording of the quartet performing Schubert’s Quartettsatz.
    3. A recent DVD of the quartet performing the first movement of a quartet by Haydn (any one of Op 64 or Op 76). Please note that recordings will ONLY be accepted in the stated formats, i.e. CD for audio recordings and DVD for video recordings.

    Each of the DVD and audio recordings should be recorded in one “take” and must not be edited or altered in any way. The Competition reserves the right to disqualify applicants entering studio enhanced or modified recordings. The recordings are not returnable.

  5. Quartets selected to take part in the Competition will be informed on or before the 1st December 2008. Subject to the advice of the Invitation Jury, 12 quartets will be selected to compete in London.
  6. The Competition proper will take place between arrival no later than Monday 30th March, and the evening of Sunday 5th April 2009. The Competition is divided into three stages - Preliminary (Tuesday 31st March, Wednesday 1st April and Thursday 2nd April), Semi-Finals (Saturday 4th April) and Final (Sunday 5th April).

    7. Musical Programme

  7. Pre-Competition Stage: a Haydn quartet (any one of Op 64 or Op 76) and Schubert’s Quartettsatz. (see point 4 above), submitted by 30th September 2008
  8. Preliminary Stage (Tuesday 31st March, Wednesday 1st April and Thursday 2nd April 2009):

    9. The venue will be the Royal College of Music.

    1. Each invited quartet will be required to perform two recitals, one each on two of the three days. The precise order, time and days of each quartet's performance will be publicised one month in advance.
    2. The programme for the two recitals will be as follows:-
    Recital 1 Recital 2
    Any one of Op 64 or Op 76 Haydn *Any one of ten late quartets by Mozart
    Arcadiana Thomas Adés (see below)
    †One work from List A
    (see below)

    *G Major K387, D Minor K421, E Flat Major K428, B Flat Major K458, A Major K 464, C Major K465, D Major K499, D Major K575, B Flat Major K589, F Major K590

    †Lists A and B

    Entrants must submit one significant work from the post-1918 period (such as those in List A). Selected quartets will be informed by the 1st December 2008 if their proposed programme is acceptable.

    †List A (post-1918)

    BartokAny Quartet
    Berg Lyric Suite
    Britten Any Quartet
    Carter Quartet No 5
    Janacek Quartet No 1 or No 2
    Ligeti Quartet No 2
    Prokofiev Quartet No 2
    Schoenberg Quartet No 3 or No 4
    Shostakovich Quartet No 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 or 15
    Tippett Any Quartet

    Entrants are reminded that they may propose other works to those listed above. Should they do so, they will only be accepted if, in the opinion of the Invitation Jury, they are of a comparable standing to those listed above.

    Subject to the votes of the Competition Jury, at least 6 quartets will go forward to the Semi-finals at the Wigmore Hall.

  9. 9. Semi-finals (Saturday 4th April 2009):

    10. The programming and order of play of each concert will be decided by ballot.

    Semi-finalists must play any one of Beethoven's quartets except Op 18 and the Große Fuge Op 133

    Subject to the votes of the Competition Jury, at least 3 quartets will be selected to perform in the Final the following evening at Wigmore Hall.

  10. 10. Final (evening of Sunday 5th April 2009):

    11. The ensembles that reach the Final Stage of the Competition will be asked to perform their choice from List B on the night of the Final.

    †List B (Romantic period)

    Brahms Any Quartet
    Debussy Quartet in G minor
    Dvorak Quartet in A flat major Op 105 or Quartet in G major Op 106
    Elgar Quartet Op 83
    Franck Quartet in D major
    Mendelssohn Any Quartet
    Ravel Quartet in F major
    Schubert Quartet in G major D887, Quartet in G minor D173, Quartet in D minor D810 No 14 or Quartet in A minor D804 No 13
    Schumann Any Quartet
    Smetana Quartet in E minor Op 116 No 1
    Tchaikovsky Quartet in E flat major No 3

    The order of play will be decided by the Jury. After the Final, there will be a prize-giving ceremony on stage.

  11. The works chosen by the ensembles and stated on the application form will only be considered final after confirmation by the Competition Administrator and can thereafter only be substituted before the Competition with prior approval.
  12. The Final of the Competition will be recorded by BBC Radio 3 for broadcast at a later date.

    13. Judging Procedure

  13. The International Competition Jury will be directed to make their judgements taking into account all the performances of all the stages of the Competition.
  14. By way of example, therefore, at the end of the Final the International Competition Jury's verdict will take into account ALL the performances at the Competition, whereas the Audience Prize of necessity will be judged on only the performances at the Final.
  15. Each International Competition Jury member will be asked to vote for quartets in their own order of preference at the end of each stage with no prior discussion, and therefore with no need of a chairman. Selections to go forward to the next round, and prize winners, will be made by majority vote, with the Borda count (order of ranking by each member) used in case of deadlock.
  16. The decisions of the Juries are Final. Contestants shall not communicate with Jury members during the Competition, nor shall any other person communicate with Jury members on behalf of any contestant. Violation of this rule may well result in disqualification.

    17. Practical Information

  17. The Preliminary stage of the Competition will take place at the Royal College of Music in London. The Semi-finals will take place on Saturday 4th April and the Final on the evening of Sunday 5th April, at London's Wigmore Hall. All performances will be open to the public.
  18. The London String Quartet Foundation will, if required, provide five return economy travel tickets to London, for each quartet.
  19. The London String Quartet Foundation will, if required, provide free lodging for the four contestants for the nights of Monday 30th March to Sunday 5th April inclusive. Any additional nights must be requested and paid for in advance.
  20. Each quartet will be given a per diem per day to go towards the cost of food and beverages or a voucher for use at the Royal College, if requested.
  21. Separate and dedicated rehearsal rooms for each quartet, including the provision of music stands, will be available at the Royal College of Music. Concert rooms at the Royal College of Music will also be available throughout the Competition, but on a rota basis.
  22. The organisers of the Competition can accept no responsibility for loss or damage to candidates' instruments or any other property at any time. Candidates are advised to effect their own insurance arrangements.
  23. Previous winners of the First Prize of the Competition are excluded from further participation in any subsequent Competition.
  24. All contestants shall agree to have their performances recorded, filmed, or broadcast on radio or television anywhere in the world. No payment will be made to contestants for the recording or broadcasting of Competition performances.
  25. Only the English text will be considered valid in the case of dispute and English Law will prevail.

Entry address: Competition Administrator, LSQF, 41 Belmont Lane, Stanmore HA7 2PU, UK; info@playquartet.com

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