Video-preselection

The candidates send in video recordings of the following works:

• one of the six Etudes for cello and piano, opus Postumus, by François Servais ;
• Variations concertantes op. 17 by Felix Mendelssohn;
• the Sonata for solo cello by Eugène Ysaÿe;
• a work of the candidate’s choice for solo cello or with piano accompaniment, written after 1950.

These works are screened by the jury members of the preselection, in order to select the candidates who can participate in the first public round.

First round

In the first round recital, each cellist performs:

• a sonata by Luigi Boccherini, with cello accompaniment, chosen from the Sonata in B flat major, G.8, Sonata in F major, G.9 and Sonata in G major, G.15;
• a work chosen from Meditation by Nikolai Roslavets, Ballade op. 3 by Josef Suk and 3 Pièces by Nadia Boulanger;
• Lullaby by Kaija Saariaho.

Just before the first round, the candidates’ repertoire will be published in the First round calendar, together with the performance schedule.

Semi-final

At each session, which consists of two parts, four different semi-finalists are scheduled.

The first two perform a concerto chosen from Concerto in C major op. 4 by Anton Kraft, Concerto in B flat major by Michael Haydn or Concerto in D major Badley D3 by Leopold Hofmann. They will be accompanied by the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, conducted by Vahan Mardirossian.

After the break, the other two give a recital with piano accompaniment. The jury will choose one of two recital programmes proposed by the candidate, each including works of the candidate’s choice and the unpublished compulsory work, Caffeine, written especially for this year’s edition by Harold Noben (world première on Monday 11 May 2026).

You can discover the jury's choice of recital in the Semi-final calendar, the day before the candidate's performance. On Sunday 10 May the order of appearence in the semi-final will be added. Each semi-finalist plays his concerto and recital on two different days.

Final

The finalists play the imposed work, Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers, written specially for the final of this cello session by Fang Man (world première on Monday 25 May 2026), and a concerto of their own choice with the Belgian National Orchestra, under the baton of Antony Hermus.

After the semi-final, the concertos chosen by the finalists and their order of appearence will be indicated in the Calendar of the final.