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The 2026 winners’ list for the International Van Wassenaer Competition showcases the young French music scene. On Friday 4 September at the Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht, the final of this ‘Early Edition’ – dedicated this year to the medieval and Renaissance repertoires – saw three ensembles compete, selected from ten candidates.
The first prize, worth €3,000, goes to the Consort La Capriola (France), an ensemble founded in 2021. Specialising in the rediscovery of the Renaissance violin family, the ensemble is thus continuing its remarkable rise: in 2025, it had already won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Concours Première in Brussels. As a member of the European S-EEEMERGING+ programme, La Capriola will release its debut album, Sulla Piazza, on 2 October on the Ricercar/Outhere Music label.
Another French ensemble, Matica de Flor, took the second prize, but also achieved a fine double by winning the Audience Prize and the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival Prize. The latter prize will open the door for them to either a tour with the Oude Muziek Festival in 2027/2028 or a concert at the 2027 edition of the festival. Formed at the CNSMD in Lyon, Matica de Flor explores, in particular, the intersections between Iberian Renaissance repertoires and Sephardic traditions of the Mediterranean.
The third prize goes to InterLineas (Germany/Switzerland), a young vocal ensemble specialising in particular in Renaissance polyphony. The internationally diverse group is led by the German tenor Martin Kautzsch, who was selected this year by REMA’s REMArkable programme.
The three finalists will also receive a professional photo shoot and a voucher for 500 euros towards a masterclass. Organised as part of the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Van Wassenaer Competition is the oldest Dutch competition for early music ensembles and has for several decades served as an important springboard for the new generation of European musicians.
Festival website : oudemuziek.nl
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