First prize for Bogdan Dugalić

20.02.2026
International Mozart Competition
© Michael Klimt

From February 13 to 19, 25 pianists from 15 countries competed in the piano category of the International Mozart Competition at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. Bogdan Dugalić won first prize, the audience prize, and the special prize of the International Society for Contemporary Music, while second prize went to Elisey Mysin and third prize to Anastasiia Kliuchereva. 

International Mozart Competition

Artistic Director:
Hannfried Lucke

Piano Jury:
Pavel Gililov (Chair)
Andreas Frölich, Robert Levin, Rena Schereschevskaya, Barbara Szczepańska

The winners:

  • 1st prize: Bogdan Dugalić, (Serbia) – donated by Bösendorfer (10,000 euros)
  • 2nd prize: Elisey Mysin, (Russia) – donated by Honorary Senator Sylvia Madsack (7,000 euros)
  • 3rd prize: Anastasiia Kliuchereva, (Russia/Austria) – donated by The Volpini de Maestri – O'Neill Foundation (5,000 euros)
  • Audience prize: Bogdan Dugalić, (Serbia) – donated by The Volpini de Maestri – O'Neill Foundation (1,000 euros)

Bogdan Dugalić (Serbia) received the International Society for Contemporary Music (IGNM) Special Prize of €1,000 for the best interpretation of a contemporary work by J. M. Staud: A propos… de nuages chassants.

Bärenreiter Urtext Prize: The three music vouchers worth €300 each, donated by Bärenreiter-Verlag, went to Bogdan Dugalić, Elisey Mysin, and Anastasiia Kliuchereva.

We warmly congratulate all the prize winners and thank the City of Salzburg, our main sponsor, as well as all sponsors and prize donors!


About the prize winners

The first prize in the piano category, worth €10,000 and donated by L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, which has supported the competition for many years, went to Bogdan Dugalić. He impressed the jury in the final concert on February 19 with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, KV 271 by W. A. Mozart. He also received the audience prize of €1,000, donated by The Volpini de Maestri – O'Neill Foundation, and the special prize of the International Society for Contemporary Music (IGNM) of €1,000 for the best interpretation of the contemporary work: "A propos... de nuages chassants" by J. M. Staud. Bogdan Dugalić (*2003) completed his studies at the Mozarteum University in the class of Pavel Gililov and is currently studying with Konstantin Bogino at the Perosi Academy. He is the winner of the Santa Cecília Competition, the Málaga Competition, and the 2nd prize at the Maj Lind Competition. He has performed with the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Helsinki Radio Orchestra, the Orquestra do Porto, the Serbian Radio Orchestra, and others, under the baton of Valery Gergiev, Anna-Maria Helsing, Roberto Tibiriçá, Dorian Keilhack, Eivind Aadland, Bojan Suđić, Srboljub Dinić, and others. His performances have taken him to the Mariinsky Theatre, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Helsinki Music Centre, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Casa da Música, among others. He has attended masterclasses with Dmitry Alexeev, Oxana Yablonskaya, Dina Yoffe, and others.

The second prize of €7,000, donated by Honorary Senator Sylvia Madsack, went to Elisey Mysin. He performed W.A. Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595, in the final. 

Born in Stavropol in 2010, pianist Elisey Mysin began playing the piano at the age of four. He studies at the Central Music School in Moscow with Natalia Trull and Daniil Tsvetkov. Numerous prizes at international competitions have already taken him to important stages such as the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Zaryadye Hall in Moscow. Since 2023, he has been a scholarship holder of the Accademia del Ridotto as well as the Vladimir Spivakov and Yamaha foundations.

Anastasiia Kliuchereva was awarded the 3rd prize of 5,000 euros, donated by The Volpini de Maestri – O'Neill Foundation. 

Anastasiia Kliuchereva (*2004) completed her studies at the Central Music School of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Prof. Mikhail Voskresensky and is currently studying with Prof. Pavel Gililov at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. She won first prize at the 2023 International Mozart Competition in Zhuhai and has already performed with orchestras such as the Classical Philharmonic Bonn, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.

The young artists were accompanied in the final concert by the Mozarteum University Academy Orchestra under the baton of Ion Marin.