前两轮比赛将在皇后镇举行，随后将选出六名选手参加在奥克兰举行的半决赛。在这里，小提琴家将与 NZTrio 和中提琴家 Rob Ashworth 一起演奏钢琴五重奏。
比赛的总决赛将于 2026 年 6 月 6 日在奥克兰市政厅举行，三名决赛入围者将分别与奥克兰爱乐乐团合作演奏一首协奏曲。
该奖项表彰了郎朗通过音乐会活动与慈善事业和音乐推广相结合对音乐界的长期影响
丹麦新的国际文化奖达芙妮奖由丹麦研究基金会创立，旨在创建艺术与科学相遇的平台，旨在表彰创造长期影响和广泛公众影响的个人。
首届该奖项颁发给了中国钢琴家郎朗，他将因其艺术作品以及向年轻和弱势群体传播古典音乐的努力而获得 485 万克朗（约合 478,000 美元）的奖金。
此外，该奖项的“下一代艺术家奖”还颁发给了美国男高音乔纳森·泰特尔曼和西班牙女高音塞雷娜·萨恩斯，两人将分别获得 750,000 克朗（约合 73,000 美元）。
颁奖典礼将于 2026 年 5 月 14 日在蒂沃利音乐厅举行，届时指挥家阿隆德拉·德拉帕拉和哥本哈根爱乐乐团将演奏拉赫玛尼诺夫第二钢琴协奏曲，郎朗担任独奏家。
“与世界沟通与发挥出色同样重要，”与丹麦研究基金会合作获奖的物理学家彼得·洛达尔 (Peter Lodahl) 说。 “我们将讨论将研究和音乐联系起来的主题。我们已经在考虑跨学科研究项目和可能的形式。第一年将是试点年，我们将在此基础上进行评估和发展。”
达芙妮奖的名称取自希腊神话，达芙妮这个人物与转变以及神与人之间的联系联系在一起。
“研究和音乐的共同点是追求高贵和卓越，”洛达尔补充道。 “达芙妮的神话正是这种努力的强烈象征。”
洛达尔表示，从郎朗长达数十年的全球音乐会活动以及他通过国际音乐基金会所做的工作来看，选择郎朗作为第一届获奖者是显而易见的。
洛达尔表示：“郎朗不仅能够发挥出卓越的水平，同时还肩负着为他生活的时代带来改变的独立使命。” “他的基金会为生活困难的儿童和来自贫困家庭的年轻人做了很多工作。
“当你带来这么多钱时，你显然会受到关注。但重要的是你不要成为一次性事件。我们需要创造一种叙事方式，在不颁奖的日子里让奖项变得栩栩如生。”
Amy Lee, associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, has been appointed as full-time associate professor of violin at the Oberlin Conservatory, Ohio, from autumn 2026. She has been a visiting professor at the conservatory since 2024.
Lee, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 15. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia aged 16, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, before going on to complete her master’s at the Juilliard School. She won first prize at the 2004 Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the 20
Founded by the Danish Research Foundation, which aims to create platforms where art and science meet, Denmark’s new international cultural prize, the Daphne Awards, celebrates individuals creating long-term effects and broad public impact.The inaugural edition of the prize has been awarded to the Chinese pianist Lang Lang, who will receive 4.85 million kroner (around $478,000 USD) for his artistic work and efforts in spreading classical music to young and disadvantaged groups.
Additionally, the awards’ Next Generation Artist prize has been presented to the American tenor Jonathan Tetelman and the Spanish soprano Serena Sáenz, who will each receive 750,000 kroner (around $73,000 USD). The award ceremony will be held at the Tivoli Concert Hall on May 14, 2026, which will feature conductor Alondra de la Parra and the Copenhagen Philharmonic performing, among other things, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Lang Lang as soloist.
“Communicating with the world is just as important as playing well,” said Peter Lodahl, a physicist collaborating with the Danish Research Foundation for the award. “We’ll address topics that connect research and music. We are already looking at interdisciplinary research projects and possible formats. Year one will be a pilot year on which we will evaluate and build on.”
The name of the Daphne Awards is taken from Greek mythology, where the figure Daphne is associated with transformation and the connection between the divine and the human.“Research and music have in common the striving for the noble and the excellent,” Lodahl added. “The myth of Daphne is a strong symbol of precisely that striving.”According to Lodahl, the choice of Lang Lang as the first laureate was obvious in the latter’s decades-long global concert activities as well as his work through his International Music Foundation.
“Lang Lang manages to both play at a sublime level and at the same time have an independent mission to make a difference in the times he lives in,” Lodahl said. “His foundation does a great deal of work for children who are having a hard time and for young people who do not come from resourceful homes.“When you bring in so much money, you obviously get attention. But it’s important that you don’t become a one-time event. We need to create a narrative that brings the award to life on the days when awards are not being presented.”