Banff International String Quartet Competition Announces Jury and New Repertoire Rules

The competition's final round will now require quartets to curate their own 45-minute program and justify their programming decisions in a written submission

The next edition of the Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) is set to take place from August 25 to 31, 2025. This year, the competition's organizers have announced innovative updates to the format of the competition, so that it better reflects the sort of programming that the winning group will present in their post-BISQC careers.

Round 1 requires quartets to perform a complete Haydn quartet, paired with a complete quartet from the 21st century. Round 2 covers standard Romantic repertoire and Round 4 encompasses Beethoven, Schubert, and 20th-century composers.

Round 3 will feature a newly commissioned work by the Canadian composer Kati Agócs. The most substantial updates are to Round 5 (the Finals), in which quartets will curate their own 45-minute program. They should choose works by at least three different composers and they must write a 750-word submission that communicates why they have chosen to pair these works together.

BISQC has also recently announced the jury for the 2025 edition, which is as follows:

2025 Preliminary Jury: Joshua Gindele (Miró Quartet), Ayane Kozasa (Aizuri Quartet/Kronos Quartet), Guillaume Sutre (Ysaÿe Quartet).

2025 Competition Jury: Eckart Runge (Artemis Quartet), Marie Chilemme (Quatuor Cavatine/Quatuor Ebène), Jonathan Crow (New Orford String Quartet), Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (Dover Quartet), Honggang Li (Shanghai Quartet), Eugene Drucker (Emerson String Quartet), David Ying (Ying Quartet).

You can read more about the updates to the competition format here.

"We are thrilled to share this announcement of rules, repertoire, and jury for BISQC," said Barry Shiffman, director of BISQC. "In just over a year Banff will again become the focus of the music world as ten extraordinary ensembles perform before our passionate audience and prestigious jury, in a festival-like celebration of music and opportunity."

"If you are a quartet with dreams of an international performing career, I encourage you to consider applying. If you are a music lover that enjoys community and beauty of place, save the dates and join us for a week unlike any other."