Let the competitions begin! The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition for organ and violoncello starts on 16 January 2019
Press release from 01/15/2019
The public competitions of the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition, which will be held this year in the organ and cello categories, will begin on 16 January 2019. As in the previous year, the two final concerts on 19 and 20 January 2019 will take place together with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the direction of Corinna Niemeyer.
Over 30 students from almost all German music academies will be taking part in the cello competition. These will take place from 16 to 18 January in the Joseph Joachim Concert Hall of the UdK Berlin with free admission. During the same period, around 20 students will be competing in the organ competition. Admission to these concerts in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is also free.
Further information on the individual competitions will be published here from today.
The young musicians will put their skills to the test in front of high-calibre juries. Prof Gustav Rivinius will chair the cello jury. The titular organist of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, Iveta Apkalna, has been recruited for the organ category.
The participants in Germany's oldest classical music competition for young talent compete for the coveted awards and prize money totalling over 20,000 euros, including the "Prize of the Federal President", the only cash prize awarded by the Federal President in the field of music. The first prize winners also receive a CD production.
On 19 January, the four best participants in the violoncello category will compete in a public final concert in the concert hall of the Berlin University of the Arts. They will have the choice between Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2, Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra. They will perform the selected work together with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the direction of Corinna Niemeyer. The jury will then decide on the prizes to be awarded.
Together with the Konzerthausorchester and the young conductor, the prizewinners of both disciplines will perform for the first time on 20 January at the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt. This concert will be of particular interest to fans of contemporary music. In addition to the overture to "Ruy Blas" in C minor op. 95 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and a cello concerto, the programme includes three world premieres: Christian Jost wrote a piece for solo cello especially for the competition, while composer José-Mariá Sánchez-Verdú wrote a work for solo organ. Marc David Ferrum, who won first prize in the composition category in 2018, will première a work for cello.
Sebastian Nordmann, artistic director of the Konzerthaus Berlin, has been artistic director of the competition since spring 2016. Gewandhaus conductor Andris Nelsons is the patron of the competition. The competition is jointly organised by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Rectors' Conference of German Music Universities and the Berlin University of the Arts.
All participants at a glance: www.fmb-hochschulwettbewerb.de/wettbewerb/2019/teilnehmende-2019/
Tickets for the concerts on 16.01.2019 and 20.01.2019 at Konzerthaus Berlin: www.konzerthaus.de or phone (030) 2030 92101
Tickets for the concert on 19.01.2019 in the concert hall of the UdK Berlin: www.reservix.de or tel. (030) 3185 2374
Press enquiries and accreditations
Claudia Assmann
Tel. (030) 3185 2456
presse(at)fmb-hochschulwettbewerb(dot)de
www.fmb-hochschulwettbewerb.de
The dates at a glance:
Espresso concert with last year's prizewinners
16 January 2019, 2 pm
Konzerthaus Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt, 10117 Berlin
Admission: 8 euros
Public cello competition
16 to 18 January 2019, from 10 a.m.
Joseph-Joachim-Konzertsaal der UdK Berlin, Bundesallee 1 - 12
10719 Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Admission free
Public organ competition
16 and 17 January 2019, both from 10 am,
18 January 2019 from 11 am
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
Breitscheidplatz, 10789 Berlin
Admission free
Final concert violoncello
19 January 2019, 4 pm
Konzertsaal der Universität der Künste Berlin
Hardenbergstraße/Ecke Fasanenstraße, 10623 Berlin
Admission: 12 euros, reduced 8 euros
Concert by the prizewinners
20 January 2019, 7 pm
Konzerthaus Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt, 10117 Berlin
Admission: 12 euros, reduced 8 euros
Partners and sponsors of the competition:
Konzerthaus Berlin
Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten
Freunde Junger Musiker e. V. Berlin
Freunde Junger Musiker Deutschland
Elsa-Wera-Arnold-Stiftung
betont
form-art.tv
Musikverlag Ries & Erler
Kulturradio vom rbb
Deutschlandfunk Kultur
reservix