Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno
History
The Faculty of Music of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (HF JAMU) has held the "International Leoš Janáček Competition" every year since 1993, the main purpose of which was to systematically promote work of Leoš Janáček and raise its popularity, especially among young musicians - by studying and performing his compositions. The then form of the competition was more or less focused on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia, it concerned instruments and disciplines for which Janáček created a number of compositions (piano, violin, cello, vocals). The budget was approx. CZK 140,000.
Since 2006, the new intention of the management of HF JAMU has been to change the form of the competition with an emphasis on the international context and create conditions for organising an event that would be a match for prestigious international competitions. The brand of the Janáček competition is unique in the world, easy to remember and in comparison with competitions that take place, for example, as associated events of various festivals and do not have any such important personality in their name, this fact is a great advantage. The faculty management was fully aware of this, so they wanted to use the competition called "International Leoš Janáček Competition" (MSLJ) to the maximum extent to promote the composer, the city of Brno, the South Moravian Region and the promotion of the Faculty of Music itself. The competition in its new form brought a further increase in the prestige of the region as an important European cultural and university centre and the place of Janáček's lifelong work. A significant change in the structure of the competition was the new organisation of the system of disciplines, which were to be repeated after a period of four years. These were the string quartet (2006,2010), piano (2008), violin (2007) and vocals (2009 - cancelled in the end due to low participation). In addition to the change in the structure of the competition, there was also a significant increase in prizes for the winners of the competition, which should also lead to an increase in interest from foreign participants.
1. price: CZK 100,000
2. price: CZK 70,000
3. price: CZK 40,000
This also led to a significant increase in the overall budget of the competition - approximately CZK1.5 million.
In 2011, two major competitions held annually in Brno merged, namely the MSLJ and the International Interpretation Competition (MIS), which was organised by the statutory city of Brno in cooperation with the Ars/Koncert concert agency until 2011. Since 2012, the main organiser of this joint modified competition is HF JAMU, at least until 2026 under the name "International Leoš Janáček Competition in Brno". The disciplines of piano/organ, cello/double bass, flute/clarinet, violin/string quartet, French horn/tuba alternate regularly in five-year cycles. The two-discipline competition is intended for young performers under the age of 35 and comprises of three rounds for each discipline. The discipline of percussion instruments was omitted from the MIS competition disciplines, the other four (French horn, organ, double bass, tuba) have been preserved. From the competition disciplines of the original International Leoš Janáček Competition (piano, vocals, string quartet, violin), the disciplines of violin, string quartet and piano have been preserved. The disciplines of cello, flute and clarinet were newly included.
m
m
U
U
1/3
a
^ M     ^        Leoš Janáček
• International Competition
j jj        in Brno
m
2012.2017 piano, organ
2013.2018 cello, double bass
2014.2019 flute, clarinet
2015.2020 violin, string quartet
2016.2021 French horn, tuba
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 26th MLSJ was cancelled in 2020.
For the upcoming five-year decade of individual years, the Faculty of Music has gained a promise of support from the Statutory City of Brno and the South Moravian Region, which has been covered by a contract. In 2022, the third five-year cycle of the competition began.
2022 piano, organ
2023 cello, double bass
2024 flute, clarinet
2025 violin, string quartet
2026 French horn, tuba
The competition is attended by people from all over world: Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, USA, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Israel, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania, Finland, Croatia, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Latvia, Poland, Germany, Estonia, United Kingdom, Austria, Ukraine, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Belgium, etc.
Number of competitors: PIANO (2012)
out of 34 registered, 19 competed in the end ORGAN (2012)
out of 38 registered, 29 took part in the competition in the end VIOLONCELLO (2013)
out of 106 registered, 57 musicians arrived in Brno DOUBLE BASS (2013)
out of 52 registered young artists, 32 participants competed FLUTE (2014)
out of 141 registered young artists, 69 participants competed CLARINET (2014)
out of 87 registered young artists, 49 participants competed STRING QUARTET (2015)
out of 7 registered quartets, all 7 ensembles competed VIOLIN (2015)
out of 61 registered violinists, 27 took part in the competition in the end
2/3
a
^ M     ^        Leoš Janáček
• International Competition
j jj        in Brno
m
TUBA (2016)
out of 54 registered tuba players, 33 took part in the competition in the end FRENCH HORN (20161
out of 104 registered, 77 horn players took part in the competition PIANO (2017)
out of 33 registered, 21 competed in the end ORGAN (2017)
out of 11 registered, 8 took part in the competition in the end VIOLONCELLO (2018)
out of 70 registered, 35 musicians arrived in Brno DOUBLE BASS (2018)
out of 50 registered young artists, 29 participants competed CLARINET (2019)
out of 122 registered, 69 musicians arrived in Brno FLUTE (2019)
out of 92 registered young artists, 53 participants competed TUBA (2021)
out of 38 registered tuba players, 19 took part in the competition in the end FRENCH HORN (2021)
out of 59 registered, 38 horn players took part in the competition PIANO (2022)
out of 20 advancing pianists from the selection round, 16 finally competed ORGAN (2022)
out of 24 registered, 17 took part in the competition in the end VIOLONCELLO (2023)
out of 85 registered, 36 musicians arrived in Brno DOUBLE BASS (2023)
out of 47 registered young artists, 32 participants competed
3/3