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Dear supporters of the cello and the Heran Violoncello Competition,
For the 28th edition, we have accepted 20 participants who want to pay tribute to Bohuš Heran with their competitive performances. Besides 11 domestic talents, we will also welcome cellists from Austria, Great Britain, Serbia, and Mongolia.

The competition will take place only on Friday, April 21. On Saturday, there will be a ceremonial reception by the mayor of the city and a winners' concert followed by an award ceremony.

We wish all participants good luck in their preparation and look forward to meeting everyone in Ústí nad Orlicí.

We cordially invite you to watch and participate in the 28th Heran Violoncello Competition.

Preparations are in full swing so that we can gather again in April in the birthplace of Bohuš Heran for a musical festival and celebration of young talented violincellists. We look forward to seeing you there.

The deadline for applications is February 28, 2023. For more information see the Organization Rules.

 

Announcement of the 28th Heran Violoncello Competition 

The town of Ústí nad Orlicí announces that 28th Heran Violoncello Competition will take place in person from 19th to 22rd of April 2023 in Ústí nad Orlicí, Czech Republic. More information in here.

27th Heran Violoncello Competition Awards

The title laureate of Heran Violoncello Competition 2022 for the absolute winner. 

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Czech National Radio for the laureate of the competition: Radio recording with Czech Radio.

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Bohuslav Martinů Foundation for the best interpretation of Bohuslav Martinů Variations on a Slovakian folk song (contestant from any category): prize money 15 000 CZK.

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award of Czech Musical Instruments company for the laureate: instrument accessory package.

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Master Jaroslav Kocian Foundation Fund for the laureate of the competition: prize money 5 000 CZK.

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Master Jaroslav Kocian Foundation Fund for the winner in each category: prize money 2 000 CZK.

Aleksandra Maria Tralla / Estonsko

Tobiáš Balkovský - ČR / ZUŠ Řevnice

Kamila Šitinová - ČR / ZUŠ Liberec

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK / Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Bärenreiter Prague music publisher for the laureate: music sheet purchase in Bärenreiter Prague publisher and Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel worth 4  000 CZK.

Júlia Sofia Nagyová - SVK/ Pražská konzervatoř

 

The Award from Bärenreiter Prague music publisher for the laureate´s teacher: music sheet purchase in Bärenreiter Prague publisher and Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel worth 2  000 CZK.

Prof. Miroslav Petráš

 

The Award of František Kinský, the New Chateau owner in Kostelec nad Orlicí and of the KINSKÝ Art Media Agency, for the best competitor of each category from the Czech Republic: an invitation to perform in the Mirror Hall of the New Chateau.

Adina Weissová - ČR / Gymnázium a Hud. škola hl. m. Prahy
Tobiáš Balkovský - ČR / ZUŠ Řevnice
Kamila Šitinová - ČR / ZUŠ Liberec
Jan Petrov - ČR / Pražská konzervatoř

 

Znojmo Music Festival Award for a competitor from the 1st or 2nd category for extraordinary music performance: Invitation for the Little Prodigies Concert at Znojmo Music Festival 2022.

Martin Bernášek - ČR / ZUŠ Jana Hanuše, Praha 

 

What did not fit in the newsletter

Prof. Miroslav Petráš, chairman of the jury, evaluates the 1st category:

In this category, we witnessed the first concert steps of very young competitors who are a promise for the future. And the promise is great, their talent is already beginning to show.

The winners of the first three awards showed wonderful performances, the winner Aleksandra Maria Tralla was even better. The decisive differences are so slight that the listener does not even have to register them in the concert hall, but a professional expert jury will recognize them. The winner's performance was technically pure with a well-guided phrase.

The performances were slightly different in the second two places, but the differences were so slight that we did not want to rank such young competitors.

I am satisfied with the overall level of the first category. These young cellists can play songs that are technically intended for much older. And some of them, the awarded players, are capable of playing them well in their 10 years.
 

 
Prof. Miroslav Petráš, chairman of the jury, evaluates the 2nd category:

The number of only four competitors in the under-12 category was probably caused by the fact that we came into conflict with the admissions to eight-year grammar schools, which is understandably more important for young Czech cellists.

However, the overall quality did not suffer from a lower number. It was interesting. From the second category, the specialty of the competition begins, to make it harder, there is the obligation to study the selection only from three etudes. These are short songs with a technical focus, the player plays them alone without a piano.

The best performances were balanced, the jury must then decide what value of the game it would prefer. Something little different can affect everyone. I would say the victorious Tobiáš Balkovský was the best in all respects. He made no memorable mistake, had good intonation, and showed the greatest maturity in his art.
 
Prof. Miroslav Petráš, chairman of the jury, evaluates the 3rd category:

The sovereign performance of the winner surprised me, I already knew her a little, and she has made great progress. Her play was the most convincing for the entire jury. Everything worked out for her, it was enriching to listen to the young artist and the unanimous agreement of the jury.

Of the nine participants, only one was from Germany, and she won the second prize, again excellent level. For divided second and third prizes, performances are always evaluated as comparable.

The third category against the first shows a significant leap that young artists will make between the age of 10 and 14. This is admirable, the performances of candidates from the third category are generally more mature, tonally more filled with beauty and meaning. Overall, I have to say that the competition is developing beautifully after the first day.
 

 
Prof. Miroslav Petráš, chairman of the jury, evaluates the 4th category:

The level of the oldest category was excellent, as it usually is. For us, these competitors are already adults in the context of the competition. For a concert artist, of course, it's still a young age.

The jury in this category perceives not only professional play but also thinking. And when this comes together, the contestant is convenient manually, has a beautiful tone, intonation, there is usually a musical sense, then it's beautiful. That applies to prize winners.

As for the third ones, the concept of the Korean contestant was softer, sometimes more vocal in the mandatory composition, Variace na slovenskou píseň by Bohuslav Martinů. On the other hand, it seemed more forceful by Jan Petrov.

Among other things, the chosen repertoire played a role in the second prize. Nadia Boulanger and her songs rarely appear in similar competitions, but the Mongolian cellist Enerel Lkhaasuren came with her. It was a wonderful experience, it is a very technically demanding song, and she managed it brilliantly.

For the winning competitor, who also won the laureate title, I would like to warn in advance that I am her teacher. In accordance with the rules of the jury, I would not evaluate in such a case, the other jurors would submit their evaluation, after adding up the points, an arithmetic average will be created, which is included in the evaluation. Once the scoring of all competitors is completed, then I chair the discussion from the position of the chairman of the jury. According to colleagues, Júlia Sofia Nagyová convinced by her beautiful sound color and wonderful intonation. From the teacher's point of view, I state that her performance was excellent, she played her maximum.
 
Prof. Miroslav Petráš, chairman of the jury, evaluates the whole competition

In the case of competitions for beginners and young artists, it is fairer, in my opinion, for them to be held in person. There are many factors to deal with, including stage-fright. With regard to time possibilities, the number of participants around forty is optimal. This year's thirty-three was a good number from the point of view of us jurors. And most importantly, the success of the performances was excellent overall. I experienced in each competition that one or two competitors had a bad day, and this year it did not happen to us! After about two years of "homeoffice", they all were looking forward to the public performance and the beautiful hall. Heran's competition has an experienced organizational system that works, and that's a great feeling. The expert jury found an agreement, and the debates dealt mainly with the division of some prizes, which I personally favor.

competition newsletter

 
competition newsletter (7.6 MB)

Competition catalogue

 
Catalogue in higher quality (2.4 MB)

Jury

Swedish Czech cellist Mikael Ericsson will replace Prof. Marek Jerie on this year's jury, as Prof. Jerie has a concert commitment for the competition days. I wish Marek Jerie a lot of success not only in concerts, and I am very happy to welcome Mikael Ericsson to the Heran Cello Competition, I look forward to working with him and wish him a great experience of meeting young musicians.