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OSAKA, JAPAN

Chamber Music Summit in Japan

Competitions

Motus Quartet and Trio E.T.A. take top honours at the 12th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition

The 12th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition took place from 17 to 24 May 2026 at Sumitomolife Izumi Hall. Founded in 1993 as a triennial event in Osaka, the competition has become one of Asia’s leading forums for emerging chamber groups, traditionally focusing on string quartets and piano ensembles and drawing jurors and participants from around the world.

The 2026 edition featured two divisions: Section I for string quartets and Section II for piano trios and quartets. After three rounds, the final was held on 22 May.

In Section I, Austria’s Motus Quartet won first prize of ¥2,500,000. The ensemble also received several special distinctions, including the Britten Pears Arts Award, the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam Award and Germany’s Klangerlebnis Award. Motus Quartet is formed by violinists Tim de Vries and Karla Križ, violist Erin Pitts and cellist Domonkos Hartmann. Its recent achievements include first prize and the special award for the best interpretation of an early Classical work at the 10th International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition, as well as third prize and two special awards – for the commissioned work and from the jury – at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.

Japan’s Quartet Fugue placed second in Section I and received the Bordeaux String Quartet Festival Award. Austria’s Quartet Kairi took third place and was named an Ambassador Ensemble for the 12th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, a title it shares with Italy’s Quartetto Werther.

Motus Quartet, 1st prize winner in section I

In Section II, Trio E.T.A. of Germany won first prize of ¥2,500,000. Germany’s Euphorie Quartet took second place and received the Music in PyeongChang Award, while the Davidoff Trio, also from Germany, secured third place. Trio E.T.A. consists of violinist Elene Meipariani, cellist Nadja Reich and pianist Till Hoffmann. The group has previously won first prize at the German Music Competition in 2021, along with several German and European distinctions including awards from the Rotary Club Bonn, Freunde junger Musiker Deutschland, the Walbusch Prize of Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland (2022) and the Berenberg Culture Prize (2023).

Both Motus Quartet and Trio E.T.A. received the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker Debut Award. As part of their first-prize packages, each ensemble will undertake a Grand Prix tour of ten concerts across Japan.

 

Trio E.T.A., First prize winner in section II

Section 1 String Quartet

Awards
First  prize: Motus Quartet (Violin: Time De Vries, Violin: Karla Kriz, Viola: Erin Carter Pitts, Cello: Domonkos Hartmann)
Second prize: Quartet Fugue (Violin: Mako Ochiai, Violin: Kentaro Konishi, Viola: Soichiro Kawabe, Cello: Soichiro Matsutani)
Third prize: Quartet KAIRI (Violin: Taiga Sasaki, Violin: Yu Mita, Viola: Jiliang Shi, Cello: Hotaka Sakai)

Section 2 Piano Trio/ Piano Quartet

Awards
First prize: Trio E.T.A. (Piano: Till Hoffmann, Violin: Elene Meipariani, Cello: Nadja Reich)
Second prize: Euphorie Quartet (Piano: Daniel Streicher, Violin: Cocoro Tomita, Viola: Julia Wawrowska, Cello: Clara Eglhuber)
Third prize: Davidoff Trio (Piano: Yona Sophia Jutzi, Violin: Johannes Ewald Wendel, Cello: Christoph Benjamin Lamprecht)

Jury
Monika Henschel (Chair), Weigang Li, Kazuki Sawa, Oliver Wille, Mai Motobuchi, Alasdair Tait, Sung-Won Yang, Rieko Aizawa, Ichiro Nodaira

 

© WFIMC 2026 / FR