1ST ROUND

One of the following string quartets

• Joseph Haydn, op. 20, op. 33, op. 50, op. 64 (except no. 1 and no. 3), op. 74, op. 76 (except no. 3)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, KV 80, KV 158, KV 168, KV 169, KV 171, KV 387, KV 421, KV 428, KV 458, KV 464, KV 465, KV 499, KV 575, KV 589, KV 590

One of the following works

• Amy Beach, string quartet in one movement, op. 89
• Benjamin Britten, no. 1 op. 25
• Rebecca Clarke, Two movements for string quartet
• Henri Dutilleux, Ainsi la nuit
• Alberto Ginastera, no. 2, op. 26
• Paul Hindemith, op. 22
• Leoš Janácek, no. 1 (Kreutzer Sonata)
  or no. 2 (Intimate Letters)
• Dmitrij Schostakowitsch, no. 4 or no. 6 or no. 9 or
  no. 10 or no. 11 or no. 13
• Karol Szymanowski, no. 1 op. 37 or no. 2 op. 56
• Anton Webern, op. 5 or op. 9 or op. 28

2ND ROUND

One of the following works

• Johannes Brahms, no. 1 or no. 2 or no. 3
• Antonin Dvorak, op. 96 or op. 105 or op. 106
• Edvard Grieg, G minor, op. 27
• Fanny Hensel, E flat major
• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, op. 12 or op. 13 or op. 44
  or op. 80
• Robert Schumann, no. 1 or no. 2 or no. 3
• Bedrich Smetana, no. 1 (From my life) or no. 2 D minor

One of the following works

• Luciano Berio, Notturno
• Elliott Carter, no. 2 or no. 3 or no. 4 or no. 5
• Franco Donatoni, La souris sans sourire
• Pascal Dusapin, String quartet no. 3 or no. 4 or no. 5
• Sofia Gubaidulina: String quartet no. 3
• Konstantia Gourzi, Anajikon. The Angel in the blue garden, op. 61
• Hans Werner Henze, String quartet no. 1 or no. 2 or no. 3
  or no. 5
• György Kurtág, Officium breve
• Helmut Lachenmann, String quartet no. 3
• Wolfgang Rihm, no. 4 or no. 9
• Jörg Widmann, String quartet no. 1 or no. 2 or no. 3
  or no. 4
• Julia Wolfe, Dig Deep

semifinal

• Franz Schubert, String Quartet in C minor, D 703
• Pēteris Vasks, one of the 6 String Quartets
• Camille Pépin, Composition commissioned by
  ARD International Music Competition 2026 (World premiere)
  The sheet music will be supplied along with the admission to the competition. The commissioned piece may not be publicly performed prior to the competition.

final

one of the following works

• Ludwig van Beethoven, op. 59 or op. 127 or op. 130 or op. 131 or op. 132
• Franz Schubert, no. 13 A minor D 804, or no. 14 D minor
  D 810, or no. 15 G major D 887
• A string quartet by Béla Bartók

Vineta Sareika, Germany/Latvia, Chairwoman
Pierre Colombet, France
Veronika Hagen, Austria
François Kieffer, France
Asbjørn Nørgaard, Denmark
Arnau Tomàs Realp, Spain
Pawel Zalejski, Poland