The 17th International César Franck Competition featuring the Willibrordus organ in St. Bavo’s Basilica and Cathedral in Haarlem, the Netherlands, took place April 14–18. Ten candidates selected for the first preliminary round were drawn from seven nationalities. The repertoire for this competition consisted of works by César Franck and Louis Vierne.
The jury consisted of Vincent Dubois (France), Ignace Michiels (Belgium), and Marcel Verheggen (Netherlands).
The competition winner was Jakub Moneta (Poland), with an award of €2,500; second prize of €1,500 was presented to Aaron Triebler (Germany); third prize of €1,000 was awarded to Haru Shionoya (Japan/France). Each prizewinner has been invited to present a recital on the Willibrordus organ in the coming years.
For information: willibrordusorgel.nl.
Jury and prizewinners of the 2026 International César Franck Competition: Marcel Verheggen, Ignace Michiels, Vincent Dubois, Aaron Triebler, Haru Shionoya, and Jakub Moneta