Conditions of Participation for the International Violin Competition Stuttgart of the Guadagnini Foundation
1. Organiser
The organiser of the Stuttgart International Violin Competition is the Guadagnini Foundation, PO Box 100102, 70001 Stuttgart (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Guadagnini Foundation’). The competition is held in cooperation with the HMDK State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (hereinafter referred to as ‘HMDK Stuttgart’).
2. Eligibility
Violinists of all nationalities who are no older than 28 years of age at the time of the registration deadline are eligible to participate. The date of birth according to the regulations for the respective competition (hereinafter referred to as ‘competition regulations’) is decisive for this.
However, violinists whose current teacher is a member of the jury of the current Stuttgart International Violin Competition are excluded from participating in the competition.
3. Registration and eligibility requirements (Pre-selection)
Registration for the competition is only possible via online registration on the website www.muvac.com (muvac profile) from the registration specified in the competition rules. The deadline for registration is the date specified in the competition rules. Late or incomplete registrations will not be accepted. For online registration, the muvac profile must contain the following information:
- Personal data: enter your personal data and upload your profile photo.
- Curriculum vitae: Enter your complete curriculum vitae under ‘Curriculum vitae’.
- Required documents: Please upload the following data under ‘Documents’:
1. “Portrait photo”: A high-resolution portrait photo without copyright (as a jpg file)
2. “ID card or passport”: Scan of your passport or identity card
3. “Repertoire”: A document with your planned competition repertoire - Videos: Please upload your application videos to YouTube or Vimeo and add them to your muvac profile under ‘Videos’. For the preliminary selection, we require either one video with all recordings or three separate videos with the
following pieces:
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
One of the sonatas:
KV 454, KV 481 or KV 526 (1st + 2nd movement each)
2. Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Two caprices from: 24 Caprices for solo violin, op.1
The music video must be recorded without any post-production editing of the image or sound.
4. Conduct of the competition
The Guadagnini Foundation's International Violin Competition Stuttgart will take place on the dates specified in the competition rules in Stuttgart, Germany, and will be organised in cooperation with the HMDK Stuttgart.
All participants must register in person at the competition office in Stuttgart on the evening before the first day of the competition, as specified in the competition rules.
The order of appearance of the participants will be determined by the drawing of lots on this day and will then be announced.
The competition consists of two preliminary rounds and the final round. The two preliminary rounds will take place in the concert hall of the HMDK Stuttgart, each with piano accompaniment.
Each participant is entitled to official piano accompaniment free of charge, which will be assigned to them together with the draw for the order of performance.
Participants may use a different piano accompanist at their own expense.
After the first preliminary round of the competition, the jury will select 8 participants for the second preliminary round. These eight participants will compete in the second preliminary round, from which the jury will select the four finalists who will then compete in the final round.
The jury's decision will be communicated to the participants at the end of each preliminary round.
The final round will take place in the Beethovensaal oft he Liederhalle Stuttgart. The four finalists will be accompanied by the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra during the final round.
All rounds of the competition are open to the public and can also be followed worldwide via livestream.
There is no registration fee for participation in the competition.
Participants are responsible for any costs incurred in connection with the competition.
All applications received in full and on time will be evaluated by the jury as part of the preliminary selection process for the competition. From these, 24 participants will be admitted to the competition. All applicants will be notified of their admission to the competition by email by the date specified in the competition rules. Admitted participants must confirm their participation in the competition by email to the Guadagnini Foundation by the deadline specified in the competition rules.
5. Jury
The preliminary selection of applicants, admission to the second preliminary round and the final, and the selection of the winner will be carried out by a jury appointed and selected by the Guadagnini Foundation, which will make its decisions at its own discretion. Following the final round, the jury will select the first three winners and the winner of the competition's special prize. The jury's decisions are final and cannot be contested.
6. Prizes, final concert and award ceremony
The finalists of the competition will receive a cash prize in accordance with the prizes specified in the competition rules. The jury will also award a special prize for the competition. Prizes cannot be paid out in cash or in kind, nor can they be exchanged or transferred to other persons. Participants may waive their prize, which will then be forfeited in favour of the Guadagnini Foundation. All prize winners are obliged to participate in and contribute to the final concert. The winner of the competition will perform in the final concert together with the orchestra. The official award ceremony will take place at the end of the final round.
7. Obligations of the participant, transfer and granting of rights of use and exploitation
By submitting their artist photos and application videos, participants confirm that these are free of third-party rights (e.g. copyrights, trademark rights or competition rights of participating musicians) or that they hold the rights necessary for their distribution or publication.
By registering for the competition, participants grant the Guadagnini Foundation and its competition partners the right to use the artist photos, application videos, names and biographical information submitted as part of the application, in particular the musical career of the participants, in all online (e.g. website) and offline media (e.g. print) for the purposes of organising, promoting and conducting the competition and announcing the results and prize winners, application videos, names and biographical information, in particular the musical career of the participants, in all online (e.g. website) and offline media (e.g. print) free of charge and to pass them on to media representatives for this purpose.
Furthermore, participants agree that all performances within the scope of the competition may be broadcast live online worldwide and that photo, audio and video recordings (hereinafter referred to as ‘recordings’) of the participants may be made during the competition.
The Guadagnini Foundation is entitled to use and exploit these recordings for all purposes granted to the Guadagnini Foundation, in particular for advertising and communication purposes, and/or to allow third parties to use and exploit them. This includes all current and future types of media and use (in particular audio-visual data carriers, online and offline media, television, radio, streaming, downloads).
To the extent permitted by law, the participants transfer or assign to the Guadagnini Foundation, free of charge, all rights they have acquired to the recordings, exclusively, irrevocably, transferably, sublicensable, without restriction in terms of time, location or content. There is no entitlement to remuneration for the recordings and their further use. Legal claims remain unaffected.
8. Data protection
The Guadagnini Foundation processes the personal data of participants collected in connection with the competition (such as name, address, email address, telephone number, image and sound recordings) in accordance with the applicable provisions of German data protection law, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Data Protection Act.
If necessary for the purpose of conducting the competition, the data may also be passed on to HDMK Stuttgart, the jury and other service providers commissioned by the Guadagnini Foundation to administer and conduct the competition.
By registering for the competition, participants agree that their personal data and the recordings made and provided in connection with the competition may be passed on to the Guadagnini Foundation (in online and offline media) and its official competition partners, as well as to media representatives for the purpose of press and public relations work and reporting on the competition.
Consent given may be revoked at any time for the future vis-à-vis the Guadagnini Foundation without affecting the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent until revocation.
Data processing is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of a contractual relationship), Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (legitimate interests of the controller). GDPR (consent) and Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (overriding legitimate interests of the controller). In addition, the data protection information available on the Guadagnini Foundation website applies.
9. Liability
The Guadagnini Foundation shall be fully liable in cases of intent and gross negligence, as well as for damages resulting from injury to life, limb or health.
In cases of minor negligence, the Guadagnini Foundation shall only be liable for breaches of a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation). A cardinal obligation in this sense is an obligation that enables the proper execution of the competition and on whose fulfilment the participant can therefore rely. In this case, however, the Guadagnini Foundation shall only be liable for foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
The limitation of liability also applies, with the necessary modifications, to the employees, contractors and vicarious agents of the Guadagnini Foundation.
10. Premature termination or cancellation of the competition, exclusion from the competition
The Guadagnini Foundation is entitled to prematurely cancel, suspend or modify the competition if unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the Guadagnini Foundation arise which make the original implementation difficult or unreasonable for the Guadagnini Foundation.
The Guadagnini Foundation reserves the right to exclude participants from the competition for good cause, in particular if there is strong suspicion or evidence of false information, manipulation, violation of these conditions of participation or other unauthorised actions. The Guadagnini Foundation is entitled to revoke prizes awarded if violations of the conditions of participation, in particular violations of the provision in clause 10, sentence 2, are proven.
11. Miscellaneous
All questions, comments or complaints regarding the competition should be addressed to the Guadagnini Foundation.
There is no right of appeal regarding the decision on participation and the selection of prize winners.
All other disputes shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding international private law.
If a participant does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, Stuttgart shall be agreed as the place of jurisdiction, unless further formal requirements apply with regard to the agreement on the place of jurisdiction beyond the agreement of these terms and conditions.
Should individual provisions of these conditions of participation be invalid or should there be a loophole, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The invalid or incomplete provision shall be replaced or supplemented by a provision that most closely reflects the interests of the Guadagnini Foundation and the participant.
The Guadagnini Foundation reserves the right to amend these conditions of participation, in particular to reflect changes in legal and technical circumstances. The current version of the conditions is available online on the Guadagnini Foundation website. In case of doubt, the German text of the conditions of participation shall prevail.
As at: January 2026