Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition 2022 in the subjects of piano and composition from 12 to 16 January 2022
Press release from 12/20/2021
At the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition 2022, the best students in the subjects of piano and composition will compete for the prizes of Germany's oldest competition for young talent in classical music. The musicians will present their skills to the top-class jury in Berlin from 12 to 16 January 2022. The renowned pianist and professor Evgeni Koroliov will chair the piano jury. The internationally successful composer Detlev Glanert will chair the jury for the second competition subject. The artistic director of the competition is Sebastian Nordmann and the patron of the competition is Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons is the patron of the competition.
The participants compete for awards and prize money totalling over 20,000 euros, the production of a CD recording and subsequent concert opportunities. The prizes also include the "Prize of the Federal President", the only cash prize awarded by the Federal President in the field of music. A special feature of the composition category is that the participating composers present their compositions with ensembles from their own university. A special prize of 1,500 euros is awarded to the ensemble that has best interpreted the submitted composition.
Due to the current hygiene regulations, the evaluation rounds of the composers will be held via video submissions. The submitted compositions can be viewed on the competition website from 13 January 2022. The competition will end with two concerts with competition participants and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin conducted by Leslie Suganandarajah. Tickets for the final piano concert and the prizewinners' concert can be purchased for 12 euros, concessions 8 euros.
The programme includes pieces from the competition programme as well as the Piano Concerto No. 1 and No. 2 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
With 30 registered pianists and 19 submitted compositions, the number of applications for the upcoming competition is extraordinarily high. Sebastian Nordmann, Artistic Director of the competition and Director of the Konzerthaus Berlin, comments: "Once again, the competition has to face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the other hand, in the history of music, especially in times of crisis, talents and composers have emerged that nobody knew or paid attention to before, so I am all the more pleased that we will see 19 different world premieres in the composition category. I am sure that Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy himself would be proud of the young students. Especially in these times, progressive and optimistic creativity is of great importance."
As every year, the programme will also feature a commissioned work: Tatjana Komarova composed the piece "Pas de Two" for solo piano, which will be performed by all participants in the piano category. The composition was funded by the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft e. V., Berlin. This funding will be awarded annually until 2029 under the title "Fanny Hensel Prize", preferably to a renowned composer. The Artistic Director of the competition decides on the award.
The competition is organised by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Rectors' Conference of German Music Universities and the Berlin University of the Arts.
Press enquiries
Claudia Assmann
Tel. (030) 3185 2456
presse@fmb-hochschulwettbewerb.de
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