Swedish-Norwegian string quartet Opus13 has been awarded First Prize at the 16th Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, following a week of exceptional performances by eleven outstanding ensembles from around the world. The Quartet also took home five of the Competition’s specialist prizes. Formed in 2014 at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, Opus13 comprises Norwegian violinists Sonoko Miriam Welde (29) and Edvard Erdal (28), violist Albin Uusijärvi (30) and cellist Daniel Thorell (27), both from Sweden. Opus13's First Prize includes a £10,000 cash award, alongside an extensive package of performance and professional development opportunities. These include a Wigmore Hall recital and UK tour, residencies in the United States and Canada, and an invitation to perform at the fifth String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam in 2026.

The Final, held at Wigmore Hall on Sunday 6 April 2025, saw three finalist quartets perform complete Beethoven String Quartets in front of a public audience and a distinguished Page 2 of 3 international jury comprising members of five leading string quartets. The jury was chaired by Wigmore Hall’s Artistic and Executive Director, John Gilhooly.

he Second Prize (£6,000) was awarded to the Terra String Quartet and Third Prize (£3,000) to Quartet Integra.

John Gilhooly, Wigmore Hall Director and Chairman of the jury said:

This competition remains a vital platform for the most promising young string quartets worldwide. We were delighted to award First Prize to Opus13, whose performance in the Final was both technically superb and emotionally compelling. Congratulations to our winners and to all the quartets taking part, whose performances over the past week have been superb. My sincere thanks go to all sponsors, partners and donors whose support enables us to provide not only financial prizes but also significant artistic opportunities, which are invaluable for the development of these young quartets.

The 2025 Competition ran from 1-6 April, with four days of preliminary rounds held at the Royal Academy of Music’s Duke’s Hall, followed by the semi-finals and final at Wigmore Hall. Each round was live-streamed free of charge by Wigmore Hall on its website, offering audiences around the world unique insight into the artistry and development of the participating ensembles. They remain available to watch here.

The triennial Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition (formerly The London International String Quartet Competition) has been held under the auspices of Wigmore Hall since July 2010. Embracing the entire string quartet tradition, it requires contestants to perform Classical, Romantic and contemporary repertoire across six days of preliminary rounds, semi-finals and then a final round.

Complete List of Prize Winners Cash Prizes

• First Prize, The Alan Bradley Memorial Prize (£10,000): Opus13
• Second Prize (£6,000): Terra String Quartet
• Third Prize (£3,000): Quartet Integra
• The Bram Eldering 19th Century Prize (£1,400): Opus13 Best performance of a 19th-century quartet in the Semi-finals
• The Sidney Griller Award (£1,000): Quartet Integra Best performance of Judith Weir’s The Spaniard in the Preliminary Round
• The Haydn Prize (£1,000): Opus13
  Best performance of a Haydn quartet in the Preliminary Round
• The Mozart Prize (£1,000): Opus13
  Best performance of a Mozart quartet in the Preliminary Round
• The City of Portsmouth Prize (£1,000): Viatores Quartet
  Most promising quartet not selected for the Final

Professional Development Prizes

• Britten Pears Young Artist Programme Prize: Terra String Quartet
• Esterházy Foundation Prize: Opus13
• Leeds International Concert Season Prize: Opus13
• ProQuartet Prize (for a finalist or semi-finalist): Katarina Quartet
• Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland Prize (for any competing quartet): Viatores Quartet

Post-Competition Engagements

Further opportunities for selected ensembles include invitations to:

• Drimnin String Quartet Academy (Scotland)
• Festival Concentus Moraviae 2026 (Czech Republic)
• Festival Tölz Winners’ Summit 2027 (Germany)

Participating String Quartets: Erinys Quartet, Katarina String Quartet, Myriade String Quartet, Opus13, Quartet Integra, Quartett HANA, Quatuor Elmire, Terra String Quartet, Turicum Quartet, Velvet Quartet, Viatores Quartet

2025 Competition Jury

John Gilhooly (Chair) – Artistic and Executive Director, Wigmore Hall

Peter Jarůšek – Cellist, Pavel Haas Quartet

Nina Lee – Cellist, Brentano Quartet

Heime Müller – violinist, former member of the Artemis Quartet; Professor, Musikhochschule Lübeck

Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt – Violist, founding member, Dover Quartet

Lesley Robertson – Violist, founding member, St. Lawrence String Quartet

Mark Steinberg – Violinist, Brentano Quartet