If you want to apply in autumn as a candidate to the 2026 Cello Competition, you will have to upload several recent videos for the preselection round. Being well prepared makes your job of recording and ours of checking the video material much easier, so be sure to take into account the following technical demands :

Each piece or movement, in the case of works that contain several movements, must be recorded in a single take.
One file per piece or per movement will have to be uploaded.
There must be only one camera and its angle must be fixed.
No editing is allowed.
The candidate’s hands and face should be clearly visible at all times.
It is strongly recommended to have the sound professionally recorded.
The videos may be recorded in different places and on different occasions.
Youtube links are not accepted.
These recordings should not have been made more than one year before the application deadline
(Wednesday 26 November 2025 12:00 GMT). The candidate must be able to provide proof of the registration date if requested by the Competition organisation.

Programme that you have to record

One of the 6 Etudes for cello and piano, opus Postumus, by François Servais (https://www.servais-vzw.org/oeuvre/6etudes/);
Variations concertantes op. 17 by Felix Mendelssohn;
Sonata for solo cello by Eugène Ysaÿe;
A work of the candidate’s choice for solo cello or with piano accompaniment, written after 1950. Concertos with piano accompaniment are not allowed.

You can find more detailed information in Articles 29-31 of the rules of the cello session.

Start on time!

Applications will open at the end of October. In order to avoid application problems, we insist that you start uploading these videos well on time before the application deadline of Wednesday 26 November 2025 at 12:00 (noon) GMT.

Good luck with your preparations and do not hesitate to ask more questions to our team via e-mail.