162 applications from 36 countries for violin and viola 2025

(cs) 162 young musicians from 36 countries on 4 continents have registered for this year's anniversary competition in the violin and viola categories. For violin, 77 applications from 27 countries had been received by the registration deadline on 31 January - significantly more than the average for this subject over the last 20 years; for viola, 85 from 26 countries.
Young musicians from China (31) are particularly well represented in 2025, followed by Germany (23), Japan and South Korea (15 each) and France (11). China took this top position for the first time in Markneukirchen. Brazil and Georgia are new to the list of countries in both subjects. The Philippines are also represented in Markneukirchen for the very first time.
All applicants were admitted directly to the competition without pre-selection and are now preparing for three musically demanding rounds as well as the final round with the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra Greiz/Reichenbach in the music city of Markneukirchen. From 8 to 17 May 2025, the young musicians from both disciplines aged between 15 and 29 will finally showcase their outstanding skills and compete for the recognition of the high-calibre international jury as well as attractive cash and non-cash prizes.

To mark its 60th anniversary, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, has once again taken over the patronage of the traditional music competition in the city of musical instrument makers. He fulfils this office together with the world-famous conductor Christian Thielemann. The presidency is in the hands of Prof Julius Berger, who is the artistic director of the two 7-member juries.
The competition entries will be judged by internationally recognised musicians and teachers in both disciplines. In the violin category, these include Prof Paul Roczek (chair, Austria), Prof Jakub Jakowicz (Poland), Prof Min Kim (South Korea), Prof Stephan Picard (Germany), Prof Eduard Schmieder (USA), Prof Gerhard Schulz (Austria) and Prof Hanna Weinmeister (Switzerland/Austria). The jury for viola includes: Prof Barbara Westphal (Chair, Germany), Prof Katarzyna Budnik (Poland), Prof Lena Eckels (Germany), Prof Françoise Gneri (France), Prof Pauline Sachse (Germany), Prof German Tcakulov (Russia) and Prof Simone von Rahden (Germany).

Cash prizes totalling 31,000 euros await the winners, donated by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, Volksbank Vogtland, the Vogtland-Zwickau Cultural Region and the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition Association. In addition, the best interpretation of the compulsory piece by Max Reger in the violin category will be rewarded with a cash prize of 1,000 euros. The winners can also expect concert engagements, e.g. with the Chursächsische Philharmonie, as well as other high-quality prizes from C.A. Götz jr, GEWA music, Pirastro and Universal Edition. But not only the members of the jury will be awarding prizes, the guests of the final rounds are once again invited to decide on the Sparkasse Vogtland audience prize - a violin or viola bow from a master bow maker in Vogtland worth up to 2,500 euros. The competition is also supported by other institutions and companies in the region, the Vogtland-Zwickau cultural area, the town of Markneukirchen, the Vogtland district, Sparkasse Vogtland and the Sparkasse Vogtland Foundation.

All competition auditions are open to the public again this year and invite visitors to listen to the exceptional talents in the Markneukirchen Music Hall (violin section) and the Old Castle in Erlbach (viola section) and choose their favourite. Detailed schedules are continuously updated on the competition website and in the competition venues.
However, Markneukirchen has much more to offer during these May days than just exciting competition rounds. An attractive supporting programme invites you to a variety of concerts, interesting lectures and newly designed exhibitions. The competition will open with a concert by the Markneukirchen Symphony Orchestra together with the Markneukirchen Grammar School Choir and four competition winners from previous years on Friday, 9 May 2025. The programme includes Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, his ‘Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt’ and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for orchestra, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. The solo parts will be performed by Patrick Hollich (clarinet, IIW 2014 prizewinner), David Spranger (bassoon, 1st prizewinner IIW 2018), Achille Fait (horn, 1st prizewinner IIW 2022) and Nele Hufenbach (piano).

The Markneukirchen Wind Orchestra, also an amateur orchestra with numerous musical instrument makers in its ranks, will give its traditional competition concert on the following Tuesday, 13 May 2025. The soloist will be trumpeter Gerd Fischer from Markneukirchen - winner of the 1986 Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition.

During the competition days, there will also be the opportunity to experience musical instrument making and its 350-year-old craft tradition, which was added to the list of intangible cultural heritage in Germany in 2014, up close in the instrument making workshops, in the Musical Instrument Making Experience, at exhibitions in the competition venues and at events organised by the Musical Instrument Museum, the Musical Instrument Making Study Programme, the Institute for Musical Instrument Making in Zwota and the Vogtland Guild of Musical Instrument Makers. The competition days will reach their climax on Saturday 17 May 2025 with the final prizewinners' concert. From 7 p.m. onwards, the competition's top winners will once again present outstanding interpretations from their competition programme in the Markneukirchen Music Hall - as soloists and accompanied by the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra Greiz/Reichenbach under the direction of Simon Edelmann and the competition pianists. The programme will include Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major op. 61 and one of the viola concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Anton Hoffmeister or Carl Stamitz, which will also be performed in the final rounds on 15 May (violin) and 16 May (viola).

For further information, please contact the secretariat of the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition, Tel.: 037422/41161, Fax: 037422/41169, E-Mail: Instrumentalwettbewerb@markneukirchen.de.