The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young classical musicians in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It was founded in 1925 by Walter Wehle Naumburg, a wealthy amateur cellist and son of noted New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 music patron and philanthropist Elkan Naumburg

Elkan Naumburg

Elkan Naumburg was a New York City merchant, banker, philanthropist and musicologist, best remembered for his sponsorship of the arts in Manhattan...

. Elkan Naumburg, owner of the eminent Wall Street bank E. Naumburg & Co. founded the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in 1905. The Concerts, originally performed at the Bandstand on the Concert Ground of New York's Central Park, have since 1923 been performed in the Naumburg Bandshell at the same location.

The Naumburg competitions were originally for solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 (Naumburg International Piano Competition

Naumburg International Piano Competition

The Naumburg International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists, of ages 17 to 32, organized in New York City, USA since 1926. It is sponsored by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation...

), voice, violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

. Awards for composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 commissions and recordings were added in 1948. An annual chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 ensemble competition began in 1972. Competitions for conductors

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 and for viola

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

, flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 and clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

have also been added.