PRESS RELEASE
72nd INTERNATIONAL ROSTRUM OF COMPOSERS
Riga (Latvia), May 15, 2026 – Stabat Mater (2024) by Serbian composer Jug Marković and Chlapec s šedivými řasami(The Boy with Gray Eyelashes) by young Czech composer Haštal Hapka (b. 1997), are the works selected by radio music producers participating in the 72nd International Rostrum of Composers (IRC), held in Riga (Latvia) from May 12 to 15, 2026.
A flagship programme of the International Music Council, the IRC took place for the first time in its history in Latvia, thanks to the invitation of Latvian Public Service Media.
Pursuing its mission to promote contemporary music creation through broadcasting for seventy years, the annual Rostrum has once again strengthened its role as one of the most important platforms for professional exchange between radio producers. Its overall objective remains fostering the exchange of performances of contemporary music among broadcasting organisations. Works chosen at the preceding Rostrum (2025) received approximately 700 broadcasts by participating networks and affiliates of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The 2026 Rostrum gathered representatives from 23 national radio networks across four continents, who presented 40 works composed within the five years preceding the event.
Sessions were co-chaired by Gregor Pirš, Head of Music at the Ars Programme of Radio Slovenia, and Davide Grosso, IRC Secretary. After the listening sessions, the assembly of delegates selected and recommended the most distinctive works in two categories: “General” and “Under 30”.
In the General category, the work selected by the delegates as most outstanding was Stabat Mater for choir, viola da gamba and electronics, composed in 2024 by Serbian composer Jug Marković. The work was presented by RTS – Radio Belgrade.
“I find freedom in working with well-known themes that have inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of composers. This approach releases me from the pressure to deliver a purely ‘original’ narrative, allowing me to concentrate solely on the magic of unconceptualized sound. I embrace the fact that a theme and its many existing musical iterations will influence my work, both subconsciously and overtly.
With my Stabat Mater, I am paying respect not to the Virgin Mary and Christ themselves, but to the love and passion their symbols have inspired throughout music history. My work is driven by an admiration that allows me to reflect upon my existence as a humble part of a larger continuity. Far from being isolated in time and space, I aim to transcend those boundaries and forge a personal connection to the tangible traditions of the past”, said Jug Marković.
In the Under-30 category, the work selected as most worthy of worldwide broadcasting was Chlapec s šedivými řasami(The Boy with Gray Eyelashes) composed in 2025 by Czech composer Haštal Hapka. The composition was presented by Czech Radio.
The composer describes his inspiration with these words: “At the beginning of the year, after nearly twenty years, I visited an antique shop in the plains north of Prague, where I had last gotten lost among the aisles as a child. From the piles of junk, I fished out a treasure: a very old, half-broken children´s piano. During my first improvisation on this diatonic instrument, a theme came to mind (or rather under my fingers), which I have played ever since whenever I pass by the piano.
When I later conceived my new composition for the BERG Orchestra and considered what might serve as a source of inspiration and musical material, I naturally arrived at this very theme. In some of my compositions, I try to explore, to search, or to experiment – sometimes even to prove something to myself. While composing this piece, however, exhausted by the preceding months, I mainly sought rest and calm. The result is therefore unusually peaceful for me.”
In addition to the selected works, fourteen other pieces (see list below) were recommended for broadcasting and concert presentation by participating and interested radio stations.
The results of this year’s Rostrum were announced at a press conference held at Studio 1 of Latvijas Radio.
Beyond the exceptional exposure provided by radio broadcasts, both selected composers will receive the IRC Prize, a bursary offered by the IMC and generously supported by RTP – Radio Television Portugal / Antena 2 and the European Broadcasting Union.
Moreover, thanks to a partnership with the prestigious publishing house Universal Edition, the two selected composers will be offered one-year access to the SCODO publishing service. All composers presented at the Rostrum will be entitled to a free evaluation for inclusion in the service and a special subscription rate if they decide to join.
During their stay in Riga, Rostrum delegates experienced the diversity of the local contemporary music scene, including the traditional composers’ interview featuring Krists Auznieks, Jānis Petraškevičs, Anna Fišere and Aleksandrs Avramecs; as well as a concert at the Latvian Radio Concert Studio, “Contemporary Fantasies. Latvian Vibe”.
Delegates also attended a special performance celebrating the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra’s 100th season closing concert.
GENERAL CATEGORY
Selected Work
Stabat Mater – Jug Marković (presented by RTS – Radio Belgrade)
Recommended Works (in alphabetical order)
Hara Alonso — Convolution | Swedish Radio
Sofia Avramidou — Innsmouth | Radio France
Paul Clift — landscape (overexposed) | RTV Slovenia
Joel Järventausta — Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra | Finnish Broadcasting Company
Christof Ressi — Am Anfang war das A (In the beginning was the A) | ORF Austria
Jonas Lie Skaarud — The moon has set, dogs are sleeping | NRK Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
Jacek Sotomski — Melancholy. Piano Concerto | Polish Radio PLPR
Zeynep Toraman — Sometimes at Night the Far Away Stars | RTS Espace2
Katharina Roth — Tot ist das Mädchen (Death is the Maiden) | ORF / Österreich 1
COMPOSERS UNDER 30 CATEGORY
Selected Work
Chlapec s šedivými řasami (The Boy with Gray Eyelashes) – Haštal Hapka (presented by Czech Radio)
Recommended Works
Adrianna Kubica-Cypek — Printemps | DR Danish Radio
Jasper Dommett — King Torques Hollow Acetate | BBC
Georg Jakob Salumäe — „silmavees” („within tears”) | Klassikaraadio / Estonian Public Broadcasting
Žanete Spirka — Iceberg | Latvian Public Service Media
Alvin Vikman — North Sea | Sw