TERMS OF COMPETITION

The competition will take place from 12 to 18 September 2025 on the organs of the following churches in Vienna/Austria:

Franziskanerkirche, Franziskanerplatz, 1010 Vienna (main round part 1)
Jesuitenkirche, Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz, 1010 Vienna (main round part 2)
Schottenkirche, Freyung 6, 1010 Vienna (final, prizewinners’ concert)

The dispositions of the organs are listed under the menu item Dispositions on this website.

APPLICATION

  1. Organists of any nationality born after December 31, 1989 may take part in the competition.
  2. Registration for the competition must be submitted exclusively electronically via the website “www.orgelwettbewerb.at” by February 28, 2025 at the latest. 
    Registrations received after this date cannot be considered.

    The registration must contain:
    1. Name, address, date of birth, telephone number and email address
    2. CV and course of study
    3. Details of any competition prizes or diplomas awarded.
    4. Announcement of the works selected from the competition program for the main round (parts 1 and 2)
    5. Announcement of the freely chosen works for the main round
      (parts 1 and 2) and for the final

  3. With the registration, the participation fee of € 100.- must be paid to the following account:

    Oberbank, IBAN: AT641500000501307763, BIC: OBKLAT2L 
    in the name of “Camerata Viennensis – FSO” 
    Purpose of payment: “Participation fee FSO 2025” 

    Once the participation fee has been received on the competition account, the participant is considered registered. A refund of the participation fee is generally not possible.
  4. The preselection will take place in digital form. Each participant must record the pieces listed in a freely chosen order as a video /audio file in mp4 or wav format and upload them by March 31, 2025 at the latest (the corresponding link will be sent after registration), whereby the following must be observed:
    • The pieces must be recorded in one file, continuous, unedited and without cuts.
    • The recording must not be older than 12 months and must not be a link to YouTube or similar platforms.
    • The recording should be well leveled, but should not be distorted.
    • The video recording should be made from a fixed camera perspective, with the musician’s hands and face fully visible at all times.
    • A public recording can be submitted if it meets the above conditions.

  5. Up to 9 participants will be admitted to the main round by the selection jury based on the videos submitted for the pre-selection. The participants will be informed of their admission to the main round by April 11, 2025.
  6. By registering, participants agree to the competition rules.


COMPETITION SCHEDULE

  1. The selection jury decides on the admission of the participants to the main round and is composed of: Johannes Ebenbauer, Austria; Maria Helfgott, Austria; Jeremy Joseph, South Africa/Austria; Peter Planyavsky , Austria; Karl-Gerhard Straßl , Austria.
  2. The competition is divided into the main round (parts 1 and 2) and the final, which are open to the public.
  3. Participants admitted to the main round are asked to report to the University of Music and Performing Arts (mdw), Seilerstätte 26, 1010 Vienna, in the auditorium on the ground floor on September 12, 2025 at 5 p.m. The organizer can help with finding accommodation.
  4. The order in which the candidates appear will be drawn at random. The complete anonymity of the competition participants will be maintained until the end of the finale.
  5. The works in the competition program must be performed in the order chosen by the performer in accordance with the competition announcement. Playing from memory is not required.
  6. Every participant in the competition has the opportunity to prepare the works for the main round and the final on the respective organs. They are given practice time on the instruments in the competition on the day before the competition round (approx. 90 minutes each) as well as warm-up time before the competition. Further practice opportunities are made available. Each participant is given the same amount of practice time.
  7. Registrants will be provided by the organizer, but can also be brought along at your own expense.
  8. After the main round, the candidates will be informed of the overall result of the individual evaluations. Interviews with the judges are planned for the eliminated candidates.
  9. Each prizewinner is obliged to take part in the prizewinners’ concert free of charge and to play the works selected by the jury.
  10. Recordings in image and sound for radio and television broadcasts as well as live streaming and internet publications are planned throughout the competition. The competition organizer reserves all rights (including any recordings and reproductions in sound and image); any claims by third parties will not be recognized. 
    The candidates are not entitled to any fee or compensation for radio and television broadcasts or in the case of a CD production or the publication of audio and video recordings via the internet. Such broadcasts or productions cannot be prohibited either. By registering, all participants grant the competition organizer the right to publish information about themselves and to pass this on to third parties.
  11. The organizer can cancel the competition if, for example, the implementation is hindered due to serious security concerns or general restrictions such as natural disasters, war or official prohibitions. In this case, participation fees paid will be refunded; other expenses or costs will not be reimbursed.

JURY OF THE COMPETITION

Helmut Binder, Austria
Bernhard Haas, Germany 
Margareta Hürholz, Germany
Peter Planyavsky , Austria 
Balázs Szabó, Hungary/Austria 

Chairman : Karl-Gerhard Straßl , Austria

  1. The decision on the results of the competition will be made exclusively by the jury.
  2. The jury works according to a jury rule under a chairman without right to vote.
  3. The decisions made by the jury are irrevocable. Legal recourse is excluded.
  4. The jury may suspend the awarding of prizes.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Three prizes will be awarded:

1st prize: € 6,000 ,– 
2nd prize: € 4,000,–
3rd prize: € 2,500,–

– Special prize for the best presentation on the Wöckherl organ
– Special prize for the best interpretation of the Toccata in C major by Franz Schmidt
– Recital contracts

The finalists may receive support for accommodation costs from 15 to 18 September 2025 (up to € 120 per day) upon presentation of the relevant invoices.

All participants will receive confirmation of their participation in the competition.
The prize winners will also receive a certificate and have the right to call themselves “Prize winner of the 9th International Franz Schmidt Organ Competition Vienna 2025”.


REPERTOIRE

PRESELECTION – digital form

  1. Franz Schmidt: from „Vier kleine Choralvorspiele“:
    „O, wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen“
  2. Johann Sebastian Bach: A fast movement optionally from one of the trio sonatas BWV 526-530
  3. A  free-choice work or movement composed between 1830 to 1950

 Total timing of round not to exceed 25–30 minutes

MAIN ROUND

Teil 1 – Franziskanerkirche „Wöckherl-Orgel“:

  1. Georg Muffat: from “Apparatus musico-organisticus”:
    Optional Toccata 1, 2, 3, 5, or 9
  2. A  free-choice variation work composed before 1700

Duration of the entire presentation 17-20 minutes

Part 2 – Jesuitenkirche:

  1. One of the following optional pieces:
    • Louis Vierne:
      • from 1. Symphonie, op. 14: VI. Final or
      • from 3. Symphonie, op. 28: V. Final or
      • from 6. Symphonie, op. 59: V. Final
    • Olivier Messiaen: from „L’Ascension“: III. „Transports de joie“
    • Marcel Dupré: Prelude et Fugue, H-Dur, op. 7/1
  2. As well as one or two freely chosen works or movements composed after 1850, which differ in character from the first piece

Duration of the entire presentation max. 30 minutes


FINALE – Schottenkirche

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue (Toccata) in E major, BWV 566 or 
    C major, BWV 566a
  2. Franz Schmidt: Toccata in C major
  3. A  free-choice work composed after 1950

Duration of the entire presentation 40 minutes