Prizes
First Prize, The Alan Bradley Memorial Prize £10,000
Kindly donated by the late Alan Bradley
Second Prize £6,000
Kindly donated by Henry and Suzanne Davis
Third Prize £3,000
Kindly donated by an anonymous donor
Special Prizes
The Bram Eldering 19th Century Prize £1,400 –
for the best performance of 19th Century repertoire in the Semi-finals.
Kindly donated by the Eldering/Goecke family
The Sidney Griller Award £1,000 –
for the best performance of Judith Weir’s The Spaniard – String Quartet No. 2 in the Preliminary Round
Kindly donated by an anonymous donor
The Haydn Prize £1,000 –
for the best performance of a Haydn quartet in the Preliminary Round.
Kindly donated by The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust
The Mozart Prize £1,000 –
for the best performance of a Mozart quartet in the Preliminary Round
Kindly donated by Peter Outen
The City of Portsmouth Prize £1,000 –
for the most promising quartet not progressing to the Final
Kindly donated by Ian Kemp
Professional Development Prizes for the First Prize Winner
This is perhaps the single most significant part of the professional development plans in the UK. The costs of hiring a prestigious venue and promoting a concert are beyond the reach of most young quartets, so the importance of having such a performance underwritten is not to be underestimated. The Wigmore Hall debut concert provides a showcase to which influential concert promoters, members of the press and other chamber musicians can be invited and will take place in October 2026.
The tour will consist of around 8 concerts, at universities, arts venues, regional and local music societies, giving the winning quartet immediate exposure across the UK. The tour will take place in the 2026-27 season, during October 2026, and will include the winner’s recital at Wigmore Hall. Wigmore Hall does not retain any fees for its management service in arranging the winner’s tour of the UK but reserves the right to enter into agreement with other managements to secure concert engagements. Concert engagements obtained by Wigmore Hall or its’ designates as part of the First Prize will not be subject to any fee payable to the prize winner’s current or future general management. For the concert season in which the Winner’s Concert Tour takes place, the winning quartet and its current or future general management agree to give exclusivity within a 100 km radius of each venue of the tour.
Avaloch Farm Music Institute is a residential arts centre designed to serve as a catalyst for unfettered artistic exploration, creation and performance. Situated in the bucolic New Hampshire countryside just 80 miles north of Boston, Avaloch provides an environment to inspire and empower early, mid-career and distinguished musicians to develop meaningful artistic content and collaborations to share with the world at large. While residencies are normally awarded through a competitive application process, the winner of the 2025 Competition will benefit from a guaranteed one or two week residency period of their choice during the 2026 residency season (dates to be announced in 2025.) Avaloch provides accommodation, a dedicated rehearsal space and delicious farm-to-table meals. Musicians also have full access to meadows and forests for hiking, a beautiful lake for swimming and boating, and access to various fruit orchards depending on the season. Performance opportunities on campus at Avaloch's recently built concert barn space, or off campus with neighbouring community arts partners, may also be organized for the ensemble. Avaloch is not able to provide additional financial support for travel costs or visas; please visit avalochfarmmusic.org for more information about the institution.
Kindly donated by the Avaloch Farm Music Institute
Founder: Dr Alfred Tauber
Executive & Artistic Director: Ashley Bathgate
Co-Artistic Director: Jessica Tong
The winner of the 2025 Competition will be offered a 5-day funded residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada, with meals, accommodation and tuition included. The residency is to be completed within 24 months of the Competition, at a mutually agreed upon time.
Kindly donated by the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Festival at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
The winner of the 2025 Competition will be guaranteed a place at the McGill International String Quartet Academy 2025, which takes place in Montreal, Canada, Sunday 3 – Saturday 16 August 2025. MISQA will provide return travel to Montreal, accommodation, per diems and tuition costs for the winning quartet.
Kindly donated by Mrs. Constance Pathy, Knight of the National Order of Quebec
Founder of MISQA
The First Prize winner will perform one concert during the 5th String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, held from 24 - 31 January 2026 in the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam.
Kindly donated by String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam
Professional Development Prizes for Finalists
The Britten Pears Young Artist Programme (BPYAP) was founded in 1972 by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears to provide high-level performance training for early career professional musicians. Led by the world’s finest performers, teachers and creatives, all projects and opportunities take place on our creative campus at the world-famous Snape Maltings Concert Hall, home of the Aldeburgh Festival and the Red House in Aldeburgh – Britten & Pears’ home and archive. The BPYAP hosts some of the world’s premier performers and teachers who lead intensive projects, which culminate in high profile performances and masterclasses. One quartet (drawn from this year’s Finalists) will be awarded a residency as part of BPYAP’s Chamber Music in Residence programme in spring 2026. This series offers exceptional emerging ensembles the opportunity to undertake intensive study and rehearsal with mentoring from eminent chamber musicians - chosen by the ensemble – on repertoire of their choice. Each residency lasts a fortnight and includes two lunchtime concerts at the Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh. The BPYAP will make a significant contribution towards travel costs, cover local accommodation and provide a number of meals.
Kindly awarded by the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme at Britten Pears Arts
The Esterházy Foundation will award a residency including a full-length recital engagement during the QuartettoPlus festival in March 2026 at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, to the winner of the First, Second or Third Prize at the 2025 Competition, at the discretion of the Esterházy Foundation.
Kindly donated by The Esterházy Foundation
Leeds International Concert Season is the largest local authority funded concert season in the country, presenting over 200 concerts each year ranging from international and national orchestras, chamber music, solo piano recitals, brass bands to free concerts at lunchtimes and in the city’s parks in the summer. Before retiring in 2020, the Endellion String Quartet presented a spring season each year from 2005-2019 for LICS. We are delighted to now work with the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition to welcome a new quartet to Leeds. At the 2022 competition we chose the Leonkoro Quartet, and we have very much enjoyed getting to know this truly wonderful quartet. We are looking forward to our second collaboration with the Wigmore Hall Competition and to choosing our new quartet in residence. One quartet will be chosen, at the discretion of LICS, to give three concerts each spring in 2026, 2027, and 2028 (nine concerts in total) at The Venue at Leeds Conservatoire.
Kindly donated by LICS
Professional Development Prize for a Finalist or Semi-finalist
ProQuartet-CEMC will award a place at one of ProQuartet’s Masterclasses in the 2025-26 season to one of the Finalists or Semi-finalists at the 2025 Competition, at the discretion of the Jury.
Kindly donated by ProQuartet-CEMC
Professional Development Prize for any competing quartet
A full Scholarship to the 70th Jeunesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus Schloss Weikersheim, Germany, September 10-21 2025. Teachers will include: Vogler Quartet and Heime Müller (violin, Artistic Director). The Scholarship will be awarded by the Jury to the competing quartet they feel would most benefit from the coaching at this International Chamber Music Course.
Kindly donated by Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland
Professional development opportunities to be awarded after the Competition
The Drimnin String Quartet Prize recognises and supports emerging talent and will entitle the winner to be one of three quartets participating in the annual Drimnin String Quartet Academy in 2026, which takes place over two one-week residencies, the first in early and the second in late spring. Academy participants enjoy undisturbed time for intensive rehearsal, development and performance under the guidance of the Academy’s Artistic Director, John Myerscough, the cellist of the renowned Doric Quartet and international educator. The Academy has excellent facilities for personal and ensemble practice as well as a dedicated performance venue, all in a magical location on the rugged west coast of Scotland. The natural environment, outstanding accommodation and catering, and engagement with other quartets make for a special experience, the total costs of which, including travel within Europe, are borne by the Drimnin Trust. The prize will be awarded to the Semi-finalist or Finalist in the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition which, in the Jury’s view, shows the greatest potential and which would benefit most from the Academy’s programme in 2026. The judges will be considering both technical and interpretive potential and will give weight to fresh thinking and challenge.
Kindly donated by St Columba’s Drimnin Trust
The Concentus Moraviae Festival, held in the historic regions of South Moravia and Vysočina in the Czech Republic, will offer a prestigious performance opportunity to one of the Finalists of the 2025 Competition. The quartet will be selected by Peter Jarůšek, programming director of the 2026 Festival. As part of this award, the festival will provide travel expenses, accommodation, and an artist fee, ensuring a rewarding experience in one of the Czech Republic’s most esteemed chamber music festivals.
Kindly donated by Festival Concentus Moraviae
Festival Tölz Winners‘ Summit 2027, based in Bad Tölz, Germany, will invite the First Prize winner of the 2025 Competition to the Summit, together with the winners of other international competitions such as Bad Tölz, Banff, Borciani, Bordeaux and Munich. The summit will take place from 15 - 26 January 2027. The Festival will provide a fee of €4,500 plus hotel accommodation and an Italian meal after the concert for the winning quartet.
Kindly donated by KLANGERLEBNIS e.V., organizer of the Festival Tölz Winners´Summit 2027