Founded in 1993 by the Japan Chamber Music Foundation, the triennial Osaka International Chamber Music Competition is open to ensembles of all nationalities, whose members are aged up to 35. Held from May 17–24, 2026, at the Sumitomolife Izumi Hall, the final round was streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel and is available to watch now.
The competition features two sections: Section I features the String Quartet, while Section II focuses on the Piano Trio and Piano Quartet.
In Section I (String Quartet), the First Prize goes to Motus Quartet from Austria, while in Section II (Piano Trio / Piano Quartet), the First Prize goes to Trio E.T.A. from Germany.
In Section I, the Second Prize was given to Quartet Fugue, while Third Prize went to Quartet Kairi.
In Section II, the Second Prize was awarded to Euphorie Quartet, and the Third Prize went to Davidoff Trio.
Prizes for both sections include ¥2,500,000 for the first-prize winner; ¥1,200,000 for second place; ¥800,000 for third place; and several special prizes.
Additionally, the first-prize winners of each section will be invited to perform in the Grand-Prix Concerts tour, where they will give around 10 concerts across Japan.
For the special prizes, the Britten Pears Arts Award went to Motus Quartet, while the Music in PyeongChang Award went to the Euphorie Quartet. The Bordeaux String Quartet Festival Award was given to the Quartet Fugue, and the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam Award went ot the Motus Quartet. To learn about all the special prizes, click here.
Chaired by Monika Henschel, the 2026 jury comprised Weigang Li, Kazuki Sawa, Oliver Wille, Mai Motobuchi, Alasdair Tait, Sung-Won Yang, Rieko Aizawa, and Ichiro Nodaira.
AloJapan.com