With the launch of the first round, the MA Competition for harpsichord 2026 officially kicked off on Friday. The competition, connected to the MA Festival Bruges, has been regarded for decades as one of the most important international stepping stones for young specialists in early music. Names like Jean Rondeau (MA 2012), Christophe Rousset (MA 1983), and Justin Taylor (MA 2015) illustrate how decisive this competition can be for an international career.
Just like in the previous edition, the first round takes place entirely online. Candidates from different countries submit pre-recorded videos that are streamed over three days for both jury and audience. What was once a practical solution has meanwhile become a fully-fledged and recognizable part of the competition.
The repertoire choice immediately sets a demanding artistic bar. Each participant combines mandatory French-style Songs by Girolamo Frescobaldi with a counterpoint from Bach's The Art of Fugue, preceded by a prelude – whether improvised or not. The result is a compelling interplay between rhetorical freedom and intellectual rigor.
Young generation, international profile
The first competition day immediately brings together a broad and remarkably young cohort. The birth dates in the program are situated mainly between 1997 and 2002, with outliers reaching back to 1994 and even forward to 2005, placing the average age around 26 to 27 years.
Stylistic richness – and clear preferences
What stands out most on this first day is not only the interpretive variation, but also the programmatic choices made outside the required repertoire.
Domenico Scarlatti dominates with a striking number of sonatas. François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau remain staples. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Fischer also appear regularly.
Béla Bartók appears just once. Less common names such as Birck, Rychlík or Seixas crop up sporadically. Several candidates opt for their own preludes or improvisations.
That balance between established repertoire and personal statement makes the first round particularly lively.
When "live" becomes relative
The online format simultaneously adds an extra, sometimes unexpected dimension. Because recordings don't necessarily happen in one take, but are often spread over a longer period, occasionally almost surreal effects emerge. For instance, there was the candidate who appeared with a closely cropped haircut in one passage, only to be seated at the harpsichord a few minutes later, in the same program, with strikingly flowing locks.
The – sometimes surprisingly quick – changes of décor and outfit also reveal how constructed these performances are (and occasionally let themselves be remarked upon with a discreet wink). It makes clear that "livestreaming" in this context is relative: not only the performance itself, but also the way it is staged, edited, and presented, plays a not insignificant role in how music is experienced on screen.
First impression: between admiration and reservations
As a layperson in the harpsichord repertoire, I won't venture to rank the candidates – certainly not while such an eminent jury is watching. But what immediately stands out are those participants who perform from memory.
Whether that necessarily leads to a more musically convincing performance is difficult to say. Perhaps it's merely perception – but it seems as though something extra happens right there, a certain freedom or self-assurance. Or perhaps it's simply my sheer admiration: for the torrent of notes, ornaments and rhetorical flourishes that seem to flow effortlessly from the wrist.
Keep watching
This was only the first of three competition days. If you still want to tune in: by all means do as I do, and put the competition on a second screen in the background. Chances are you'll find yourself captivated – and catch yourself listening a bit more attentively after all.
Who knows, you might be among the first to spot a future name in the harpsichord repertoire. But who that will be remains to be seen – until the results of this first round and, ultimately, the real final this summer in Bruges.
