The Molinari Quartet's Ninth International Competition for Composition

competition composition molinari

Through its Composition Competition, the Molinari Quartet wishes to encourage young composers to write for string quartet. Over the past centuries, the string quartet has become, thanks to the great masterpieces written for it, a highly valued but challenging form to write for composers. 

The Molinari Quartet contributes to the development of the string quartet literature by encouraging composers to send new original scores to its Competition.

complete rules

Through its Composition Competition, the Molinari Quartet wishes to encourage young composers.

The Molinari Quartet contributes to the development of the string quartet literature by encouraging composers to send new original scores to its Competition.

The Molinari Quartet is pleased to announce its Ninth International Competition for Composition for string quartet.

Composers are invited to submit an original work for string quartet. The winning compositions will be played in concert during the Molinari Quartet’s Twentieth and Beyond series to be held in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) during the 2024-2025 concert season.

The jury will be comprised of the Molinari Quartet’s artistic director and its musicians, in addition to well-known Canadian composers, Michel Gonneville and Nicolas Gilbert who will determine four winners. The winning compositions will be performed by the Molinari Quartet during a special concert during the 2024-2025 season. After the concert performance the jury will deliberate and choose the order of the winners. The First Prize winner shall receive a 3000 $ CA grant as well as a silkscreen by renowned Canadian artist Guido Molinari. The second prize winner will receive a 2000 $ CA grant and the third prize winner a 1000 $ CA grant. The fourth finalist will receive an Honourable Mention. The jury reserves the right not to grant all the prizes.

The renowned Viennese publisher Universal Edition offers a free evaluation of their works to all the participants enabling them to access the scodo* publishing tool. Also, the four winners will receive a free one year subscription to scodo, worth 875$. (600€)

The winners will be invited to work with the Molinari Quartet prior to the winners’ concert and to participate in the Dialogues sur le Plateau series, a public workshop of discussions and analysis produced by the Molinari Quartet.

Rules for Eligibility:

  • Candidates must be 40 years old or less as of April 1st 2024, the due date for registration.
  • The work must not exceed 20 minutes.
  • Only works for string quartet that have never been performed professionally as of April 1st 2024 shall be accepted.
  • Works having been performed in a pedagogical context (school, masterclass, workshop) by students and not a professional ensemble are eligible.
  • Works for quartet and electronics are accepted.
  • Scores must be received by the Molinari Quartet at the latest April 1st (The post office stamp shall be recognized as the receiving date)
  • Scores in PDF format are also accepted and must be received at the latest April 1st 2024 at the following address : qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca
  • USB keys are also accepted.
  • Registration fees of 30 $ CA must accompany all scores. **
  • A candidate may submit more than one work, but each work must be sent separately.
  • Parts and scores shall remain the property of the Molinari Quartet.
  • The candidate must send a full score.
  • Separate parts must be sent by the winning composers to the Molinari Quartet by July 2024.
  • All scores must be sent anonymously; only a pseudonym can appear on the score pages.
  • The candidate shall also send an envelope or file with his or her pseudonym, name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, birth date, nationality (for statistics), resumé as well as a statement as to the fact that the work has never been performed professionally.
  • The composer whose work has been chosen as one of the winning compositions, will not receive any extra payment for the execution or recording of the work.
  • The winners of the competition commit themselves to find the necessary funding for a stay in Montreal to work with the Molinari Quartet the week before the concert and to assist to the performance in the 2024-2025 season.

*scodo – the publishing tool of Universal Edition

Publish your sheet music via scodo and present yourself in the catalogue of Universal Edition.

scodo is an easy-to-use and flexible web tool for publishing your sheet music. You can publish a new work at any time, which can be obtained immediately from the Universal Edition website. Universal Edition takes care of production, distribution, licensing and billing. All your sheet music can be purchased or hired worldwide in printed or digital form.

How does scodo work?

Register for free at www.universaledition.com/scodo and upload your musical submission! After a quality check by the scodo Artistic Committee you can start: You choose a subscription according to your needs and you can already upload your first work, which can be viewed and distributed worldwide from this moment on.

** The registration fees may be paid by cheque (to Molinari Quartet), Paypal (qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca) bank transfer or cash. We also accept US dollars and Euros but you must add 5$ to the registration fee to cover the bank’s conversion fees or the Paypal fees.

Competition Calendar:

Competition launch: September 2023

The due date for registration and receiving scores: April 1 st 2024

Jury: May 2024

Announcement of winners: May 24 2024

Winners Concert: 2024-2025 season

Please send the scores to:

PDF by email : qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca

Printed scores to :

Molinari Quartet

P.O. Box 56536, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H1W 3Z3

For more information write to :

qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca    or call : 514-527-5515