The percussion discipline of the 75th ARD International Music Competition runs in Munich from September 4 to 13, 2026. The first and second rounds and the semifinals are held in the Großer Konzertsaal at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München; the final takes place at the Herkulessaal der Residenz.
Schedule
- First round: September 4, 5 and 6 at 11:00 a.m. — Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Großer Konzertsaal; free admission
- Second round: September 7 and 8 at 11:00 a.m. — the same venue; free admission, with livestream links on the official Calendar
- Semifinals: September 10 at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. — the same venue; the official Calendar provides ticket and livestream links
- Final: September 13 at 4:00 p.m. — Herkulessaal der Residenz; the official Calendar provides ticket and livestream links
Marimba in the repertoire
In the first round, each competitor performs Iannis Xenakis’s Rebonds B, one work for solo marimba, and one work for solo snare drum. The marimba choices are Kalevi Aho’s Solo XV, Michael Jarrell’s Entlehnungen, Bruno Mantovani’s Moi, jeu, Joseph Schwantner’s Velocities, and Andrew Thomas’s Merlin.
The second round moves to solo timpani, vibraphone, and theatrical percussion. The semifinal includes a setup work and the marimba part from Béla Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, with the competitor on Marimba 1 and Jürgen Leitner of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on Marimba 2. In the final, competitors perform Friedrich Cerha’s Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and a freely chosen work of up to three minutes for one instrument.
Jury
Martin Grubinger chairs the seven-member percussion jury. The other members are Camille Baslé, Johannes Fischer, Sanja Fister, Timothy Genis, Marta Klimasara, and Vassilena Serafimova.