International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition
Encyclopedia
The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Internationaler Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Wettbewerb) is a music competition in Leipzig
, Germany
, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig
. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1964 to 1996 with five subjects and is now held every two years with three changing subjects. From 1965 the competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions
in Geneva
.
Prize winners have included:
For a complete list of musicians who have been awarded in the competition see the List of prize-winners of the International Bach Competition.
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig
Bach-Archiv Leipzig
The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is the institution for the documentation and research of life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, where Bach lived from 1723 until his death. Topic of research is also the Bach family, especially their music...
. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1964 to 1996 with five subjects and is now held every two years with three changing subjects. From 1965 the competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions
World Federation of International Music Competitions
The World Federation of International Music Competitions is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classical music through public competition...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.
Prize winners have included:
- Pianists: Tatiana NikolayevaTatiana NikolayevaTatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva was a Russian Soviet pianist, composer and teacher.-Early life:Nikolayeva was born in Bezhitsa in the Bryansk district on May 4, 1924...
, Jörg DemusJörg DemusJörg Demus is an Austrian pianist.At the age of six, Demus received his first piano lessons. Five years later, at the age of 11, he entered the Vienna Academy of Music, studying piano and conducting. He graduated in 1945, then 17 years old...
, Waldemar MaciszewskiWaldemar MaciszewskiWaldemar Maciszewski was a Polish pianist and composer.Macizewski was born in Warsaw in 1927. He trained under Zbigniew Drzewiecki at the underground Warsaw Conservatory throughout World War II and at the Cracow State Music Academy from 1945-48...
(1950), Igor LazkoIgor LazkoIgor Lazko , , is a Russian classical pianist who has made a distinguished international career as performer, recording artist and teacher of other pianists.- Early career in Russia :...
(1964), Valery AfanassievValery Afanassiev- Life :Valery Afanassiev was born in Moscow. He studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Emil Gilels and Yakov Zak. In 1969 he was the winner of the Bach Competition in Leipzig, and three years later at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels...
, Ivan KlanskyIvan KlánskýIvan Klánský is a Czech pianist.He was awarded 2nd prizes at the 1967 Concorso Busoni , the 1968 J.S. Bach Competition in Leipzig and the 1976 Paloma O'Shea Competition. He has performed internationally since. In addition, he has recorded for Naxos Records, Supraphon and Praga .Klánský holds a...
(1968), Kei ItohKei ItohKei Itoh is a Japanese pianist.Itoh graduated at the Tōhō Gakuen Daigaku in 1977, finishing her studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Musikhochschule Hannover. She won the 1979 Epinal and 1983 Munich Competitions....
(1980), Ueli WigetUeli WigetUeli Wiget is a Swiss pianist, harpsichordist and harpist.He was prized at the 1985 Sydney Competition. Since 1986 Wiget is a member of the Ensemble Modern, a chair he combines with an international concert career.-References:...
(1984), Nikolai Luganski (1988), Martin StadtfeldMartin StadtfeldMartin Stadtfeld is a German pianist.Stadtfeld gave his first concert at age 9, and at age 14 enrolled at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt under the tutelage of Russian-American professor Lev Natochenny...
(2002), Irina ZahharenkovaIrina ZahharenkovaIrina Zahharenkova is an Estonian pianist and harpsichordist trained at the Estonian Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy.-References:* Tallinn Chamber Music Festival* Borletti-Buitoni Trust...
(2006) - Organists: Amadeus WebersinkeAmadeus WebersinkeAmadeus Webersinke was a German pianist and organist.He studied from 1938 to 1940 at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Leipzig with Karl Straube, Johann Nepomuk David, and Otto Weinreich. He was a lecturer from 1946 and a professor from 1953 for piano at the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and...
, Karl Richter, Diethard HellmannDiethard HellmannDiethard Hellmann was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.-Professional career:...
(1950), Daniel ChorzempaDaniel ChorzempaDaniel Walter Chorzempa is an American organist.He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and subsently studied music at the University of Minnesota and Cologne...
(1968), Hans FagiusHans Fagius-Biography:Fagius studied organ with Bengt Berg before entering the Royal College of Music, Stockholm where he studied with Alf Linder. After graduating in 1974 he studied organ privately with Maurice Duruflé in Paris. He taught organ in Gothenburg and Stockholm before being appointed professor of...
(1972), Jaroslav TůmaJaroslav TumaJaroslav Tůma is a Czech Organist.This organist, clavichord, harpsichordist and pianoforte player graduated from the Prague Conservatory and from the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
(1980), Balint KarosiBalint KarosiBálint Karosi is a Hungarian organist and composer.-Biography:He started to study the piano and clarinet at the age of six and years later at the age of seventeen he began to study the pipe organ...
(2008) - Violinists: Alexei GorokhovAlexei GorokhovAleksey Nikolaevich Gorokhov was a Russian violinist who lived most of his life in Ukraine.Many Ukrainian violinists are either his pupils or pupils of his pupils.-Biography:...
(1950), Oleg KaganOleg KaganOleg Moiseyevich Kagan was a Soviet violinist, known for his chamber partnerships with the likes of pianist Sviatoslav Richter and cellist Natalia Gutman. He was also a significant proponent of modern music, in particular Berg's Violin Concerto...
(1968), Hiroko SuzukiHiroko SuzukiHiroko Niizuma Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler, valet and promoter best known in the United States for her work for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand under the ring name Hiroko...
, Marat BisengalievMarat BisengalievMarat Bisengaliev is a Kazakh violinist and director of both the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra and TuranAlem Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra...
(1988), Rachel BartonRachel Barton PineRachel Barton Pine is a violinist from Chicago. Considered a child prodigy at the violin, she started playing at the age of 3 and a half. She played at many renowned venues as a child and teenager...
(1992), Shunsuke SatoShunsuke Satois a Japanese born, classical and baroque violinist and violist.-Musical activities:Sato started his concert career in the United States at 12, by winning the Young Concert Artists first prize in 1997, performing throughout North America, Europe, and Japan as a soloist with orchestras such as...
(2008) - Cellists: Michael SanderlingMichael SanderlingMichael Sanderling is a German violoncellist and conductor.- Biography :Michael Sanderling, son of the contrabassist Barbara Sanderling and the conductor Kurt Sanderling, got his first cello lessons at the age of five in Berlin. At the age of eleven, he became student of Matthias Pfaender at the...
(1988), Richard HarwoodRichard HarwoodRichard Craig Harwood is a British cellist.- Biography :Richard Harwood was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire and began learning to play the piano, aged four and the cello, aged five. He attended Ditcham Park School...
(2004) - Flutists: Matthias Rust, Alison MitchellAlison MitchellAlison Mitchell is an English sports broadcaster. She is a reporter for Test Match Special, and a reporter and commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live and Five Live Sports Extra.-Early life:...
(1984) - Singers: Bruce AbelBruce Abel-Biography:Abel studied singing at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City under Hans Heinz, where he excelled in studies of French art songs and German lieder. He won a Fulbright Fellowship in 1962 which enabled him to pursue further studies in the lieder and oratorio repertoire in...
(1964), Gábor NémethGábor NémethGábor Németh is a Hungarian football player who currently plays for Vasas SC.-Szombathelyi Haladás:Ha made his debut of the 4th September 1996 against BVSC Budapest in a match that ended 2–1.-Vasas SC:...
(1976), Jadwiga RappéJadwiga RappéJadwiga Rappé is a Polish operatic contralto. In 1980 she was awarded first prize at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig. She made her professional opera debut at the Great Theatre, Warsaw in 1983, and has remained a regular artist at that theatre ever since...
(1980), Bogna BartoszBogna BartoszBogna Bartosz is a Polish classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Bogna Bartosz studied voice at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and graduated with distinction...
(1992), Simone KermesSimone KermesSimone Kermes is a German coloratura soprano, especially known for her virtuoso voice, suited to the opera seria genre, of the Baroque and early Classical repertoires.-Biography:...
, Christoph GenzChristoph Genz- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
, Ekkehard AbeleEkkehard AbeleEkkehard Abele is a German operatic bass-baritone. He first gained recognition when he won the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1996. Since then he has recorded a number of works by Bach under such conductors as Tobias Ziemlichklein Hiller, Werner Hümmeke, Ton Koopman, and Hermann Max...
(1996), Jan KobowJan KobowJan Kobow is a German classical tenor in concert, Lied and Baroque opera.-Professional career:Jan Kobow was born and raised in Berlin. He was a singer and soloist of the Staats- und Domchor, Berlin with Christian Grube. He studied the organ at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and graduated in church...
(1998), Franziska GottwaldFranziska GottwaldFranziska Gottwald is a German mezzo-soprano singer in opera and concert.- Biography :Franziska Gottwald received her first voice training at the age of 16 with Prof. Eugen Rabine and studied voice at the Academies of Music in Saarbrücken, Hannover and Weimar...
(2002), Markus FlaigMarkus Flaig-Professional career:Markus Flaig was born in Horb am Neckar. He studied sacred music and school music, then voice with Beata Heuer-Christen in Freiburg and with Berthold Possemeyer at the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt. Since 2006 he has worked with Carol Meyer-Bruetting...
(2004)
For a complete list of musicians who have been awarded in the competition see the List of prize-winners of the International Bach Competition.