The Viatores Quartet wins first prize at the 75th ARD Music Competition and Hans Gál Ensemble Prize
At the 75th International ARD Music Competition in 2026, first prize in the string quartet category went to the Viatores Quartet. The prize is worth 30,000 euros and includes a concert tour as well as bespoke concert attire from Marillon Couture. The quartet also won the Audience Prize and the Special Prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work by Camille Pépin.
Just a few days after the ARD Music Competition, the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature and the Villa Musica Rhineland-Palatinate State Foundation announced that the 2026 Hans Gál Ensemble Prize would be awarded to the Viatores Quartet. The award ceremony, featuring a concert by the winning ensemble, will take place on 15 December 2026. The prize is worth 12,000 euros.
The Berlin-based Viatores Quartet was founded in 2023 by students at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin and comprises the British violinist Louisa Staples (26), the German violinist Johannes Brzoska (26), the Portuguese violist Miguel Erlich (30) and the Turkish cellist Umut Sağlam (28). At the Hanns Eisler School of Music, the quartet were taught by Johanna Staemmler, and also by Prof. Tabea Zimmermann at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. The ensemble are currently studying with Prof. Oliver Wille in Hanover. Most recently, the Viatores Quartet won first prize at the 2024 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition, second prize at the 2025 ‘Irene Steels-Wilsing’ String Quartet Competition, and special prizes at the international string quartet competitions at Wigmore Hall and in Banff.
Vineta Sareika chaired the jury for the string quartet category; its members included Pierre Colombet, Veronika Hagen, François Kieffer, Asbjørn Nørgaard, Arnau Tomàs Realp and Pawel Zalejski. No second prize was awarded; the third prize was shared by the Fugue Quartet and the Katarina Quartet.
A total of 184 musicians from 32 countries competed in the four categories – bassoon, percussion, organ and string quartet – at the ARD Competition in Munich. From 16 to 18 September 2026, BR Klassik will broadcast the three prize-winners’ concerts live from 8 pm.