The excellence of world-class lutherie celebrated at the Philharmonie de Paris: look back at the 2026 edition
- carla23198
- Jan 19
- 4 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
At Talents & Violon’celles, we love good ideas that come to fruition, long-lasting partnerships and growing success. The International Lutherie Competition, created in 2022 with the Musée de la Musique - Philharmonie de Paris, is a perfect example of this. The third edition took place from 14 to 18 January 2026 in a wonderful atmosphere, with 78 instruments from 22 countries competing. In just a few years, this biennial event has become an unmissable fixture, demonstrating the dynamism of excellence and the transmission of expertise in lutherie on a global scale.
After the cello in 2022 and the violin in 2024, the 2026 edition was dedicated to the viola. Much less standardised in its dimensions than the other instruments in the quartet, the viola presents a particular challenge for luthiers, who must strike a balance between sound and ergonomics.
Three steps to selecting the winners
The international jury, chaired by Raphaël Pidoux, cellist, vice-president and co-founder of Talents & Violon’celles, brought together three solo violists this year – Ana Bela Chaves, Pauline Sachse and Miguel da Silva – and three instrument-making specialists – Riccardo Angeloni, Ibiza Avalos and Jonathan Marolle.
During the first round, which took place behind closed doors at the Musée de la Musique over three days, each luthier juror carefully examined the instruments and each musician juror tested their sound. At the end of this first round, 15 violas were selected in the ‘Talents of Today’ category and 5 violas were selected in the ‘Talents of Tomorrow’ category. Then, during the public semi-finals and finals, each instrument still in the running was played for the jury and the audience by the viola players of the Orchestre de Paris, hidden behind a screen. A total of eleven prizes were awarded (see below).
Promoting the excellence of young international lutherie
In this competition, a special place is reserved to students of lutherie schools with a dedicated category, ‘Talents of Tomorrow’. All schools offering a lutherie program leading to a diploma are eligible to compete and enter their students, either individually or collectively. Candidates must draw inspiration from a historical model. This year, the model was the exceptional ‘Stauffer’ viola, made by Girolamo Amati in 1615, the oldest known viola made in Cremona, preserved at the Museo del Violino in Cremona. Eight lutherie schools entered the competition – two schools from Antwerp (Belgium), Bilbao (Spain), Brienz (Switzerland), Milan (Italy), Hallstatt (Austria), Mirecourt (France) and Santiago de Querétaro (Mexico) – with 15 violas. Just like professional luthiers, the students had one year to prepare their candidate violas, a small challenge to be included in an already busy training schedule.
A big thank you to our patrons!
The 138 donors who contributed to the crowdfunding campaign ‘Luthiers of Tomorrow’, enabling the purchase of the first prize viola ‘Talents of Tomorrow’, which will enrich the collection of facsimiles at the Museum of Music;
The Belle Main Foundation, patron of Talents & Violon’celles, reaffirms through its support of the International Lutherie Competition its commitment to artisanal excellence and the recognition of luthiers, both professionals and students;
The Bavarian company Alpentonholz Pahler, which has been providing prestigious lutherie wood sets since the first edition of the competition.
See you in January 2028 for a fourth edition dedicated to the violin!
"What extraordinary joy these two awards bring to our school, it's very emotional! All these young students are volunteers; they committed to making their instruments as a group outside of school hours, even though the school is known for its demanding and intensive programmes. They started in their second year and finished at the beginning of their third year. This sets us apart from other schools, which tend to favour students who are nearing the end of their training. Everyone gave their best in a truly collective effort, as evidenced by Etienne Bellanger, the teacher who volunteered to accompany them, whom I warmly thank. In the workshop, they work mainly individually, alone with their instruments. Creating an instrument with many hands is wonderful, and this project has carried them forward." Valérie Beausert-Leick, director of the National School of Lutherie of Mirecourt
"The goal was really to work together rather than just win, to be happy with the result. We said to ourselves: we have a deadline to meet, we have to do everything we can to get there. And we did the best we could with the time we had, anticipating, dividing up the tasks, preparing the next steps. We did a real team effort, which brought more cohesion to our class. It was a project that was close to all our hearts, and since it was a collective effort, we didn't want to let anyone down, so we all took care to do our best. We never really had any moments of doubt; we were always fully committed to the project. And we all agree that this in-depth work helped us grow." Matthias Hardy and Thomas Vibert, students of the National School of Lutherie of Mirecourt representing an award-winning team
The 2026 winners
Today's Talents category:
First Prize: Andreas HAMPEL (Germany)
Second Prize: Piotr PIELASZEK (Poland)
Joint Third Prize: Marcus KLIMKE (France) and Jonathan MAGERL (Germany)
Musicians’ Jury Award: Kenichi HIRATSUKA (Japan)
Luthiers’ Jury Award: Piotr PIELASZEK (Poland)
Viola Players’ Favorite Award – Orchestre de Paris: Jonathan MAGERL (Germany)
Special Audience Award: Andreas HAMPEL (Germany)
Tomorrow’s Talents Category:
First Prize: National School of Lutherie of Mirecourt (France) - Sarah CHOUVET, Simon FLORENT, Anne Cécile GUEZEL, Noé PETIOT, Sacha PROCACCI, Zi Hui WONG
Second Prize: National School of Lutherie of Mirecourt (France) - Fanney COMTE, Nino DUPIERRIS, Ondine GENTAUD, Matthias HARDY, Claire SZYMCZAK, Thomas VIBERT
Third Prize: Schweizer Geigenbauschule Brienz (Switzerland) - Laura GARTMANN and Thibault JABERG
Luthiers’ Jury Award: Schweizer Geigenbauschule Brienz (Switzerland) - Laura GARTMANN and Thibault JABERG
Together, let's give a voice to the talents of tomorrow
Your generosity is the driving force behind our work: it enables us to ensure that talent never lacks the instrument or experience it deserves. Every donation, regardless of the amount, helps us build the future of music and entitles you to a tax reduction.
Comments