X International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Pianists and Chamber Ensembles The International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Piano and Chamber Ensembles will take place from 20 to 28 March 2026 in Vilnius and Kaunas.

Rules of X International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Pianists and Chamber Ensembles

1. About the competition
The competition will take place on 20-28 March 2026.

For PIANISTS Competition will be held in four stages:

• Pre-selection Round (Online);
• 1st Round and 2nd Round will take place in The Great Hall of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (main building, Gedimino ave. 42);
• The Final Round will take place in Kaunas State Philharmonic (E. Ožeškienės g. 12, Kaunas), together with the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dainius Pavilionis.

For CHAMBER ENSEMBLES Competition will be held in three stages:

• Pre-selection Round (Online);
• The 1st Round will take place in The Chamber Hall of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Congress Hall, Vilniaus g. 6-2);
• The Final Round will take place in The Chamber Hall of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Congress Hall, Vilniaus g. 6-2).

The Competition is open to pianists of all nationalities who were born in or after 01 January 1996, and to chamber ensembles whose all members’ average age is less than 35 years.

• The Competition is open to the following ensembles:

• The students of the Jury members can take part in the competition, but those Jury members are not allowed to vote for their students or have an impact on the decisions of other Jury members and their decisions

2. Registration

• The Registration to the competition will be open from June 2025.
• Registration will be executed through the professional music competition administration platform artistDB or competition website: https://vainiunas.lt/en/a/contests
• Participants should register online by 1 February 2026.
• You will be able to change and update all information you upload during the registration process until the end of the registration.

Deadlines and requirements:

• PRESELECTION ROUND VIDEO: may be submitted, amended or modified until the end of the registration.
  (The applicant must provide a valid YouTube video performance link about 10 - 15 minutes, where he/she/they performs a free program. Editing of the video recordings is prohibited, but different pieces may be recorded at different times and in different locations.)
• COMPETITION PROGRAM: should be submitted during the registration process, but can be modified and amended according to the requirements of the competition repertoire by 20 February 2026
• REGISTRATION FEE: If you would like to use a 50 % Early Payment Discount, you should pay the registration fee until 31 August 2025.

3. Program

• Each participant shall prepare a programme in accordance with the Competition repertoire. The selected programme should be stated in the application form.
• For Preselection Round the applicant must provide a valid YouTube video performance link about 10 - 15 minutes, where he/she/they performs a free program.
• Pianists - Soloists all programs of all Rounds should perform by MEMORY.
• Participants who have logged in to their artistDB account will be able to change their programs and performance order until 20 February 2026
• Participants will be required to perform their programs in the order of their own choice finally made in artistDB on 20 February 2026
• The exact programme for Chamber Ensembles will be determined by the Jury, whose decision will be announced to the contestants before the performance.
• Jury members could stop unprofessional performance.

4. Registration fee:

• For Pianist - 100 EUR
• For Chamber Ensemble - 150 EUR

• 50 % Early Payment Discount will be given to those participants, who register and pay the participation fee by 31 August 2025
• The fee is non-refundable. You will be able to pay by credit card, bank transfer, or PayPal. You will be provided with more detailed information during the registration process.
• It is not necessary to pay the application fee before you start the registration, but if you would like to do so in advance, information on payment methods and bank details can be found at this link.

5. Selection of Participants and Evaluation

• Received applications will be forwarded to the Preselection Committee.
• Candidates will be informed about their acceptance until 10 February 2026. 
  The possible number of participants:
  • PIANISTS: I Round - no more than 32; II Round - no more than 16.; Final - no more than 6.
  • CHAMBER ENSEMBLES: I Round - no more than 25.; Final - no more than 9
• The results of I and II Rounds will be announced at the end of them, and the results of the Final will be announced during the Laureates Awards Ceremony.
• After the announcement of the results, those who did not make it to the next round are welcome to ask the opinion of the Jury.
• The decisions of the Jury are final and not subject to appeal. The Jury decisions have primacy and take precedence over these rules if the two conflict.

6. Jury Members

7. Prizes and Awards

• The main prize fund of the Competition is 35.000 EUR.
• More precious information about possible prizes you can found under this link.
• Other Concert, Money Prizes or Awards from the public or private initiatives may be announced and awarded until the end of the Competition.
• According to the voting results and evaluation rules, the Jury (or founder of the prize) will decide who and which prize will get.
• The Jury or Prize Founders decisions about prize winners are final and not subject to appeal. These decisions have primacy and take precedence over the announced rules of prize distribution if the two conflict.

8. Obligations of Participants

• It is forbidden to have contact with the Jury during all the competition (unless the participant is a student of a Jury member).
• Chosen competition laureates, diploma holders and winners of the special prizes are obliged to take part in the Competition Final concerts of the competition without remuneration.
• The competition's all rounds and final concerts of the winners can be streamed online on radio and television, recorded on audio, video, or compact CD without any additional payment for the participants of the competition. The competition will be available online.
• The Management of the Competition reserves a right to permit all the Competition performances and final concerts to be broadcasted by radio and television and to be produced as audio, video, film, CD, tape cassette and vinyl recordings without remuneration to the competitors.

9. Travel and Accomodation

• Travel to and from Vilnius and accommodation costs is on each competitors responsibility and expenses.
• The Competition will offer special prices and cancellation conditions for selected Hotels in Vilnius to all participants.
• The competition partner Travel Agency "Menu Turas" has appointed a personal manager to help you with the travel, visa, accommodation, and other technical issues or requests
• Management of the Competition intermediates for the participants who need visa in order to come to Lithuania, but it doesn't bear any financial responsibility.

IMPORTANT: The competition organizers do not take responsibility for travel restrictions and other mandatory decisions made by Lithuanian or/and other countries authorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizers will do everything to mediate between competitors and Lithuanian authorities and make sure to arrange visas and permissions necessary to enter The Republic of Lithuania. Nevertheless, the final decision about arrival to the conditions (quarantine or isolation) will be made individually for each competitor depending on the COVID-19 situation in the outbound country.

10. Competition Schedule:

Registration to the Competition will be available till 1 February 2026
Results of the Preselection Round will be announced till 10 February 2026
The participation order will be established by drawing of lots – the order will remain valid until the end of the competition.
The Competition will provide participants with rehearsal facilities.
All Auditions and the Final Concert will be available for audience and broadcasted publicly.

2 April 2026
The 117th birthday of the composer STASYS VAINIŪNAS

In the event of any discrepancies, the Lithuanian text of these rules shall prevail.
The Jury decisions have primacy and take precedence over the rules and regulations published on the Competition page if the two conflict.
The next International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Piano and Chamber Ensembles are planned in 2030.