Dear Colleagues and Friends,
It is with great pleasure that we present the 2026 edition of the WFIMC Yearbook to you- a colorful and multi-faceted compendium of close to 130 member competitions, junior competitions, associate members and dozens of new, remarkable young laureates from this past year. The past twelve months have been a period of remarkable expansion and deepening engagement. We celebrated important milestones in Asia, publishing our Yearbook in Chinese and convening our General Assembly in China for the first time. To connect with new audiences, we launched an official Xiaohongshu channel and initiated a number of new projects that strengthen our ties to this vital cultural landscape. Our commitment to forward-thinking dialogue was further demonstrated in South Korea with two international conferences held in November and December 2025: “Discovering Tomorrow” with the Tongyeong International Music Foundation at Tongyeong Concert Hall, and “Beyond the Stage” with the Korea Arts Council (ARKO) in Seoul. In fact, a promising new partnership with ARKO will enable us to enlarge our career support initiatives for young artists in the coming three years. This momentum continues with the upcoming forum “Inspiring the Future” in Vilnius, Lithuania. Preceding our 2026 General Assembly, the public two-day seminar will be dedicated to creative programming, innovative performance formats, and the cultivation of new audiences. Now in its second edition, our renewed Yearbook format provides a great platform to showcase the unique character of each member competition. Alongside interviews with the directors of nine newly admitted member competitions, this year’s special section focuses on Conducting. Featured articles reflect on recent successes in Rotterdam and Parma while looking ahead to the Mahler and Svetlanov Competitions of 2026, all complemented by insightful conversations with Deborah Borda, Han-Na Chang, Jakub Hrůša, and David Whelton. I would like to extend my gratitude to WFIMC President Peter Paul Kainrath and our Board of Directors for their continued support, guidance and motivation, and look forward to another year of inspiration, collective expertise and shared ideas that will shape the artistic journeys of young musicians across the globe.
© Sihoon Kim
with kind regards,
Florian Riem Secretary General
Greetings
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