Prague, 13 May 2026 | The winner in the flute category of the 77th Prague Spring International Music Competition is the twenty-two-year-old Maël Metzger from France. Second and third places went to his compatriots Iris Daverio and Mathilde Alvin Besson. An Honourable Mention of the Jury, First Grade, was awarded to the German flautist Moritz Schulte. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced so many emotions in my life as I have here tonight during the final,” said Maël Metzger after receiving the prize. He also received the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Prize, Prize of the City of Prague for the most successful laureate, the Bärenreiter Prize, the Czech Radio Prize, a performance at the 82nd Prague Spring International Music Festival in 2027 and with the Pilsen Philharmonic during the 2026–2027 season. The popular Audience Prize presented by the Friends of Prague Spring patrons’ club, won Iris Daverio.
Overview of prizes awarded
1st Prize Maël Metzger
2nd Prize Iris Daverio
3rd Prize Mathilde Alvin Besson
Honourable Mention of the Jury, First Grade: Moritz Schulte
Audience Prize: Iris Daverio
Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Prize for the best performance of a composition by Bohuslav Martinů: Maël Metzger
Czech Music Fund Foundation Prize for the best performance of Dances and Song of the Night for Flute and Piano by Petr Popelka: Moritz Schulte
Prize of the City of Prague for the most successful laureate: Maël Metzger
Czech Radio Prize: Maël Metzger
Bärenreiter Prize: Maël Metzger
Performance at the 82nd Prague Spring International Music Festival in 2027: Maël Metzger
Performance with the Pilsen Philharmonic during the 2026–2027 season: Maël Metzger
As is tradition, the laureates also received several paid performance engagements both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
It is worth repeating that a record 239 flautists applied for this year’s Prague Spring International Music Competition. “The level of competition was extremely high. Thank you to the wonderful team that organized everything so well, thank you to all the judges, and thank you to the contestants, who were very brave. They could all be my children, and it’s very hard for a father to see his children work so hard because they have a desire to succeed. And that is exactly what these three young artists are doing, and we should give them a big BRAVO for it,” said Philippe Bernold, Chairman of the flute jury.
The final round featured Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita in A minor for solo flute BWV 1013 and the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra by Jindřich Feld accompanied by the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Kaspar Zehnder. The winner was decided by a jury comprising Philippe Bernold (France) – Chairman of the Jury, Emily Beynon (United Kingdom / Netherlands), Christina Fassbender (Germany), Davide Formisano (Italy, Germany), Barthold Kuijken (Belgium), Václav Kunt (Czech Republic) and Jan Ostrý(Czech Republic).
The entire final evening, which took place on 13 May in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, is available on the Prague Spring YouTube channel, @PragueSpringFestival. Nearly 4,200 users watched the live stream of the final round, and to date, nearly 35,000 users have viewed live streams or recordings of the 2026 Prague Spring International Music Competition. Partners of the competition are the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague and the ČEZ Foundation. Tomorrow, May 14, the competition will culminate with the piano finals.
Stream of the final round: https://youtu.be/Wt5SqXj3RS0
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