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Competition rules

XVIII KAZIMIERZ WIŁKOMIRSKI INTERNATIONAL
YOUTH CELLO COMPETITION

Poznań, 2-5 December 2026

Download Competition Rules in pdf format

 

COMPETITION RULES

XVIII Kazimierz Wiłkomirski International Youth Cello Competition will take place on 2-5 December 2026 in Poznań. All stages of the competition will take place in Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 concert hall in Poznań, and will be open to the public.

I. Aims

  1. Exchange of artistic experiences between young cello players and teachers from various countries.
  2. Motivation and promotion of talented young musicians.
  3. Promotion of Kazimierz Wiłkomirski’s music, and spreading the knowledge of his life and oeuvre.

II. Organizers

  1. The organizer of the competition is the Centre of Art Education.
  2. The co-organiser of the competition is Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 in Poznań.

III. Jury

  1. The Jury is called by the Director of the Centre of Art Education.
  2. The Jury is accessing the participants’ play, taking into consideration correct reading of musical notation, the knowledge of the music form and ability to perform it, interpretation and performance style, sound quality and artistic impressions.
  3. During competition auditions all the participants will be judged on a 25-point scale.
  4. The participants of 3rd and 4th Group will be admitted to the second stage of the competition only if they receive an average minimum rating of 20 points in the first stage.
  5. Sessions of the Competition Jury are run in secrecy and its decisions are final and irrevocable.
  6. The Jury can’t include persons who teach student or students participating in the competition or is related with participants – in accordance with Article 6(3) of the Regulation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of November 21, 2019, on the organization and conduct of competitions for students of public art schools and institutions (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 2279, as amended)

IV. Participants

  1. The competition will be divided into four age groups:
  • 1st group up to 11 – born after 31/12/2014,
  • 2nd group up to 13 – born after 31/12/2012,
  • 3rd group up to 15 – born after 31/12/2010,
  • 4th group up to 17 – born after 31/12/2008.
  1. The first prize winners of the previous competitions cannot be part of the same age group in the current competition.
  2. Younger participants can join an older group, provided they will perform works from the prescribed competition programme of chosen age group.

V. Competition programme

1st group  – up to 11 (born after 31/12/2014)

Performance time can not exceed 15 minutes.

  1. One of the etudes from:
  • Friedrich August Kummer – 10 Melodic Etudes, Op.57
  1. Two contrasting parts of any sontatas of the following composers:
  • Antonio Vivaldi (Edition Ricordi, Bärenreiter or Editio Musica Budapest)
  • Benedetto Marcello (Editio Musica Budapest)
  • Georg Philipp Telemann (Bärenreiter HM 13)

or one of the sonatas:

  • Antonio Vandini – Sonata in F major (Edition Schott)
  • Antonio Vandini – Sonata in G major (Edition Schott)
  1. Piece by a composer from the country of origin of the competition participant.

2nd group – up to 13 (born after 31/12/2012)

Performance time can not exceed 15 minutes.

  1. One of the etudes from:
  • Friedrich August Kummer – 10 Melodic Etudes, Op.57
  1. Two contrasting parts of any sontatas of the following composers:
  • Antonio Vivaldi (Edition Ricordi, Bärenreiter or Editio Musica Budapest)
  • Benedetto Marcello (Editio Musica Budapest)
  • Georg Philipp Telemann (Bärenreiter HM 13)

or one of the sonatas:

  • Antonio Vandini – Sonata in F major (Edition Schott)
  • Antonio Vandini – Sonata in G major (Edition Schott)

 

  1. Piece by a composer from the country of origin of the competition participant

3rd group – up to 15 (born after 31/12/2010)

1st STAGE

  1. Chosen etude or caprice – selection:
  • Auguste Franchomme – 12 etudes, Op.35
  • Auguste Franchomme – 12 caprices, Op.7
  1. Kazimierz Wiłkomirski – selection:
  • Aria
  • Vocalise
  1. I and II movement or III and IV movement of chosen sonata*:
  • Andrea Caporale – 6 Sonatas (Edition Granzino)
  • Francesco Geminiani – 6 Sonatas (Edition Peters Frankfurt)
  • Benedetto Marcello – 6 Sonatas (Editio Musica Budapest)
  • Georg Ph. Telemann – Sonata in D major (Bärenreiter HM 13)
  • Antonio Vivaldi – 9 Sonatas (Edition Ricordi, Bärenreiter lub Editio Musica Budapest).

Performances of works in their original version, accompanied with basso continuo, are welcomed. The organizers will provide a performer for a second cello part. The contestant can perform a piece with the chosen accompanying cellist.

* Only chosen editions of musical score are recommended

2nd STAGE

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach – two movements (without repeats) from Cello Suites to choose:
  • I Cello Suite No.1 in G major, BWV 1007 – Allemande and

Courante or Sarabande and Gigue

  • II Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008 – Allemande and Courante or Sarabande and Gigue
  • III Cello Suite No.3 in C major, BWV 1009 – Allemande and Courante or Sarabande and Gigue
  1. Chosen concert:
  • Luigi Boccherini – Cello Concerto in G major, G.480, Mvt I
  • Georg Goltermann – Cello Concerto No.3, Op.51, Mvt I
  • Joseph Haydn – Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb: 4, Mvt I
  • Joseph Haydn – Cello Concerto No.1 in C major, Hob.VIIb:1, Mvt I
  • Dmitry Kabalevsky – Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 49, Mvt I
  • Sergei Prokofiev – Cello Concertino in G minor, Op. 132, Mvt I
  • Camille Saint-Saëns – Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, Mvt I
  • Carl Stamitz – Cello Concerto in C major, Mvt I

 

  1. Overture form – selection:
  • Artemi Ayvazyan – Concert etude
  • Emil Dunkler – La Fileuse, Op.15
  • Gabriel Urbain Faure – Papillon, Op.77
  • Daniel van Goens – Scherzo, Op.12
  • Samuel Kossowski – Polonaise with Introduction in C major
  • David Popper – Concert Polonaise in D minor, Op.14
  • David Popper – Tarantella, Op.33
  • David Popper – Hungarian Rhapsody, Op.68
  • Camille Saint-Saëns – Allegro appassionato, Op.43

4th group – up to 17 (born after 31/12/2008)

1st STAGE

  1. Chosen etude from:
  • David Popper – „Hohe Schule”, Op.73
  1. Kazimierz Wiłkomirski – selection:
  • Mazurek
  • Long poem
  1. I and II movement or II and III movement of sonatas from*:
  • Luigi Boccherini – 19 Sonatas (Edition Ricordi or Zanibon)

Performances of works in their original version, accompanied with basso continuo, are welcomed. The organizers will provide a performer for a second cello part. The contestant can perform a piece with the chosen accompanying cellist.

* Only chosen editions of musical score are recommended

2nd STAGE

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach – Prelude from selected Cello Suites:
  • I Cello Suite No.1 in G major, BWV 1007
  • II Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
  • III Cello Suite No.3 in C major, BWV 1009
  • IV Cello Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010
  1. Chosen cello solo piece:
  • Ernest Bloch – Suite: movements I and II or movements III and IV (Broude Brothers)
  • Benjamin Britten – Suite No.1, Op.72: Canto I – Fugue or IV Marcia – Canto terzo (Faber)
  • Gaspar Cassado – Suite for Cello Solo: movement I (Universal)
  • George Crumb – Sonata for Solo Cello: movement I or movement II (Peters)
  • Sofia Gubaidulina – “10 Präludien”: 2–3 preludes to choose (duration: 6 minutes) (Sikorski Verlag)
  • Hans Werner Henze – Serenade: 5 movements to choose (Schott)
  • Paul Hindemith – Cello Sonata, Op.25 No.3: movements from I to III or movements III to V (Schott)
  • Volker David Kirchner – „Und Salomo sprach …” (Schott)
  • Witold Lutosławski – Sacher-Variation
  • Enrico Mainardi – „7 Studi brevi”: ovements from I to IV or movements from IV to VII (Schott)

 

  1. Chosen concert:
  • Joseph Haydn – Cello Concerto No.1 in C major, Hob.VIIb:1, Mvts II & III
  • Dmitry Kabalevsky – Cello Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.49, Mvts II & III
  • Edouard Lalo – Cello concerto in D minor, Mvt I or Mvts II & III
  • Sergei Prokofiev – Concertino in G minor, Op.132, Mvts II & III
  • Camille Saint-Saëns – Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, Op.33

Mvts I & II (according to Edition Peters to letter H = bar 372) or

Mvts II & III (according to Edition Peters from letter F = bar 208)

  • Edward Elgar – Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85 , Mvts I & II or III & IV
  • Antonin Dvorak – Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, Mvt I

 

VI. Application procedure

The candidates must fill out an online application form and submit it with a live performance recording before 15/10/2026.

International participants should include a proof of payment of a fee of 50 EURO to their application.

  1. On website https://www.konkurs-wilkomirski.pl/

in page „Applications” you can fill out the interactive form and send it to the competition organizer.

  • After submitting, a confirmation will be sent to the e-mail address provided within 3 days. If no confirmation is received, please contact the organizer directly.
  1. The following works should be recorded and submitted:
  • In 1st group – Any piece (duration up to 5 minutes)
  • In 2nd group – etude and a slow sonata movement (for Vandini’s sonatas, the entire work)
  • In 3rd group – an etude and a slow sonata movement
  • In 4th group – an etude and a slow sonata movement
  1. The provided recording quality shouldn’t generate additional costs for the participant.
  • It is permissible to record a performance with a phone in HD quality.
  • We kindly ask not to make recordings in a room with reverberant noises and place a recording device in not more than 4 meter distance.
  • Please avoid recording with windows in the background during day time.
  • The whole body of the participant should be visible in the recording.
  • Each piece should be recorded in whole as one file.
  • The recording should be made with one immobile camera, without editing cuts during the performance of the piece, without modifying the audio track.
  1. The candidates will be assessed on the basis of the sent recordings with positive or negative classification.
  2. Assessment will be subjected to correct reading of musical notation, the knowledge of music form and ability to perform it, interpretation and performance style, sound quality and artistic impressions.
  3. A list of selected participants will be published on the competition website on 25/10/2026 at the latest.
  4. International participants should include a proof of payment of a fee of 50 EURO to their application that should be paid to the following account:

 

Poznańska Ogólnokształcąca Szkoła Muzyczna I stopnia nr 2 im. Tadeusza Szeligowskiego

IBAN: PL52 1020 4027 0000 1402 1263 6264

SWIFT/BIC code: BPKOPLPWXXX

  1. The fee will not be refunded if the participant won’t be selected for the competition or
  2. Applications sent after the deadline will not be considered.

 

To send an application to the XVIII KAZIMIERZ WIŁKOMIRSKI INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CELLO COMPETITION please follow instructions mentioned below:

  1. Fill out and submit the ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
  2. Send the recordings via WeTransfer, using these details:

Email to – konkurs-wilkomirski@posm2.poznan.pl

Your email – [the address provided in the form]

Title – [First and Last Name of the Participant]

 

  1. Include a proof of payment of a 50 EURO fee (for international participants only) to the following address, including your personal data.

konkurs-wilkomirski@posm2.poznan.pl

 

VII. Auditions

  1. In the 1st and 2nd group, the competition will be single-stage, while in the 3rd and 4th group it will proceed in two stages. The auditions will be held in front of an audience, and will proceed in alphabetical order starting from a letter randomly chosen by the Organiser Board.
  2. The participants will report to the Competition Office and provide a proof of identity, at least one hour before the scheduled time of participation in the first stage of the competition.
  3. The Organiser reserves the right to change the order of the auditions within a single day for organizational or promotional reasons. In the case of an appropriately documented illness, a participant can be given permission to perform outside the agreed schedule, at the end of a given stage. In such an occurrence, the new order will be followed until the end of the competition.
  4. The participants will perform with their own accompanists or cellists playing the basso continuo part. In individual, objectively justified cases, the Organizer can hire musicians to support a participant with piano accompanist or cellist. The request for performance with the accompanists or cellists provided by the Organizer should be included in the online form.
  5. At each stage, all works must be played by heart.
  6. A detailed audition schedule will be published on the website https://www.konkurs-wilkomirski.pl/ after the participants list is finalized.

 

VIII. Prizes

  1. All competition participants are presented with diplomas of participation.
  2. The first three winners of each age group selected by the jury will be awarded with a laureate diploma and provided with monetary and special prizes.
  3. The title of Laureate of the Competition, for the participants of the 1st and 2nd group is earned by the performer who received at least 21 point grade for the competition. performance, and for the participants of the 3rd and 4th group, by the performer who received an average not less than 21 point in both stages of the competition.
  4. The title of Finalist of the Competition is earned by the participant of 1st and 2nd group, who received a 20-20,99 point grade, this also applies to the participant of the II stage from 3rd and 4th
  5. Special prizes in 3rd and 4th group will be awarded for the best performance of a work by Kazimierz Wiłkomirski.
  6. The jury has the right to issue honorary diplomas for the teachers and piano accompanists.
  7. The laureate of the Artistic Education Centre competition receives rights, referred in:
  8. 44zh of the Act on the System of Education dated 7 September 1991 (receiving best positive classification grade from artistic educational class gives an exemption right from the exam),
  9. 132 of the Act of Education Law dated 14 December 2016 (higher place during admission process to secondary schools).

 

The finalist of the Centre of Art Education competition (i.e. participant who was qualified for the last stage of the competition or received a special mention for one-stage competitions) receive entitlements in accordance with provisions issued under art. 162 of the Act of Education La dated 14 December 2016 (conversion of points of designated criteria for the admission procedure to secondary schools).

  1. The competition will be concluded by a laureate concert, the programme of which will be designated by the Jury.

IX. Other

  1. The Organizer has the right to record the competition for radio and TV, without paying the participants.
  2. The participants transfer to the Organizers, without remuneration, all economic rights for the following:
  • performance of the pieces during competition,
  • performance of the pieces during laureate concert.
  1. The acceptance of the candidate’s application will be tantamount to the candidate’s acceptance of these Rules.
  2. The participants should make their own living arrangements.
  3. The participants should investigate whether they will need a visa to visit Poland. do Polski. Organiser can offer an appropriate invitation if needed.
  4. Any organizational issues falling outside the competences of the Jury will be decided by the Headmaster of Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 in Poznań. His decisions will be final.
  5. Additional information could be provided:
  • For organizational matters:

Competition secretariat, located in Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 in Poznań, on street Bydgoska 4,

Tel. (048) 61 877-45-26        

mail: sekretariat@posm2.poznan.pl

konkurs-wilkomirski@posm2.poznan.pl

  • For artistic and performance matters:

Agnieszka Pawłowska – Cello teacher of Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 in Poznań

pawlowska.agnieszka@posm2.poznan.pl

 

X. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

  1. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation, hereinafter “GDPR”), the joint controllers of the personal data provided by the Competition Participant (or their legal guardian), as Organizers, are:
  • Tadeusz Szeligowski 1st Level Music School No. 2 in Poznań, located on street Bydgoska 4, 61-127 Poznań

Represented by the director (Controller 2).

Contact: tel. +48 61 877-45-26, email: sekretariat@posm2.poznan.pl

Data Protection Inspector: iod_mjo@um.poznan.pl

  • Centre of Art Education, located on street Mikołaja Kopernika 36/40, 00-924 Warsaw, represented by the Director (Controller 1).

Contact: +48 22 421 06 21, email: sekretariat@cea.art.pl

Data Protection Inspector: iod@cea.art.pl

  1. Personal data will be used for the following purposes:
  • preparation and organization of the Competition, awarding prizes, and publication of information about the Competition laureates on the Organizers’ website, social media, and in the Artistic Education Events Calendar, as well as for promoting the Organizers’ artistic activities and participants’ performances (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR – consent),
  • free-of-charge use of the participant’s image in the form of photographs or video recordings, if consent is given (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 81 of the Polish Copyright Act – consent),
  • fulfillment of legal obligations incumbent on the controller, such as tax settlements and record-keeping (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR – legal obligation),
  • establishing, pursuing, or defending against claims related to the Competition or the need to demonstrate certain facts relevant in this respect (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR – legitimate interest); limitation periods are defined by the Civil Code.
  1. Providing personal data is voluntary but necessary to participate in the Competition. Failure to provide data will result in inability to participate.
  2. Personal data will not be used for decision-making based solely on automated processing, including profiling, within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR.
  3. Personal data will be processed for the period necessary to achieve the purposes indicated above. Depending on the legal basis, this will include:
  • until consent is withdrawn,
  • the period required by law,
  • the duration of preparation and organization of the Competition,
  • the limitation period for claims,
  • until an effective objection is submitted.
  1. Participants have the right to submit a request to Controller 2 for: access to personal data (including obtaining a copy), rectification of data (if incorrect), data portability (where applicable), erasure or restriction of processing – under GDPR rules.
  2. In addition to the above rights, it is also possible to:
  • object to the processing of personal data where it is based on legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR),
  • file a complaint to the President of the Personal Data Protection Office if the processing violates legal provisions.
  1. With full safeguards for data security, personal data may be transferred to other entities, including:
  • prize sponsors (for formal purposes related to awarding prizes),
  • entitles authorized by law to receive such data,
  • processors acting on behalf of the controllers (e.g., IT service providers, advisors),
  • other controllers (e.g., notary offices or law firms).
  1. The responsibilities of the joint controllers regarding compliance with personal data protection obligations, including their mutual arrangements in this respect, are governed by a joint controllership agreement.

 

 

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