The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Germany, held by the

Bach-Archiv Leipzig The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach-Archiv also researches the Bach family, especially their music. Based in Leipzig, the city where ...

. 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 violin / baroque violin, piano, harpsichord or in the fields of voice, cello / baroque violoncello and organ. From 1965 the competition is a member of the

World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) 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 classi ...

in Geneva.

Prizes

Prizes for participants: The Prize winners have the right to use the title "Bach Prize Winners".

Prizewinners

Prize winners have included: * Harpsichordists: Pieter-Jan Belder (2000), Andrew Rosenblum (2018) * Pianists:

Tatiana Nikolayeva Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva (russian: Татья́на Петро́вна Никола́ева, ''Tat'jana Petrovna Nikolajeva''; May 4, 1924November 22, 1993) was a pianist, composer, and teacher from the Soviet Union. Life Nikolayeva was born ...

, Margarita Fyodorova,

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

, Waldemar Maciszewski (1950),

Igor Lazko Igor Lazko (russian: Игорь Лазько, ), (b. St Petersburg, 1949), 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 Igor ...

(1964),

Valery Afanassiev Valery Afanassiev (russian: Валерий Павлович Афанасьев, ''Valerij Pavlovič Afanasiev''; born 8 September 1947) is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. Life Valery Afanassiev was born in Moscow. He studied piano at ...

Svetlana Navasardyan , native_name_lang = , alias = , birth_date = , birth_place = Alaverdi, Armenian SSR, USSR , origin = Soviet Union, Armenia , death_date = , death_place = , genre ...

, Ivan Klansky (1968),

Kei Itoh Kei 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. She has been awarded th ...

(1980),

Ueli Wiget Ueli Wiget (born 1957 in Winterthur) 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 Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to perf ...

(1984), Nikolai Luganski (1988),

Ragna Schirmer Ragna Schirmer (born 1972) is a German classical pianist.
on Bach Cantatas Website

Life

(1992 & 1998), Cornelia Herrmann,

Christopher Hinterhuber Christopher Hinterhuber (born 28 June 1973) is an Austrian classical pianist. Biography and career Hinterhuber was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, and studied with Rudolf Kehrer and Heinz Medjimorec at the university for Music in Vienna, and wit ...

(1996),

Miku Nishimoto-Neubert Miku Nishimoto-Neubert is a classical pianist. Born in Tokyo, she studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai). On a recommendation of Karl-Heinz Kämmerling she completed her studies in Hanover, Hannover at the Hochschule für Musik und T ...

(1998),

Martin Stadtfeld Martin Stadtfeld (born 19 November 1980 in Gackenbach) 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-Am ...

(2002),

Irina Zahharenkova Irina Zahharenkova (born 23 February 1976 in Kaliningrad) is an Estonian pianist and harpsichordist trained at the Estonian Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Aka ...

(2006),

Ilya Poletaev Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah ...

(2010),

Hilda Huang Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. T ...

(2014),

Paul Posnak Paul Posnak is an American pianist and music academic. He is noted for playing repertoires mixing twentieth-century American music with European romantic classics, ranging from George Gershwin to Frédéric Chopin, from classical to jazz. His tra ...

* Organists: Amadeus Webersinke, Karl Richter,

Diethard Hellmann Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. Professional career Born in Grimma, Dietmann Hellmann was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied church music in Leipzig ...

(1950),

Daniel Chorzempa Daniel Walter Chorzempa (born December 7, 1944) is an American organist, composer and architect. Biography Chorzempa was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and subsequently studied music and architecture at the University of Minnesota and furthe ...

(1968),

Hans Fagius Hans Gustav Fagius, né Andersson (born 10 April 1951), is a Swedish classical organist and pedagogue. Biography Fagius was born in Norrköping and studied organ with Bengt Berg before entering the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, where he stud ...

(1972),

Matthias Eisenberg Matthias Eisenberg (born 15 January 1956) is a German concert organist and harpsichordist, and a cantor. The award-winning player is known for performing concerts with clarinetist Giora Feidman. He has performed and conducted master classes interna ...

(1976),

Jaroslav Tůma Jaroslav Tůma (born 1956, in Prague, Czech Republic) 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 ...

(1980), John Scott (1984), Balint Karosi (2008) * Violinists: Alexei Gorokhov (1950), Oleg Kagan (1968),

Hiroko Suzuki , née , (born 1974) is a Japanese politician, professional wrestling valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment on its '' SmackDo ...

, Johannes Ludwig Von Schwartz (1984), Marat Bisengaliev (1988), Rachel Barton (1992), Shunsuke Sato (2010) * Cellists:

Alexander Rudin Alexander Israilevich Rudin (born 1960) is a Russian classical cellist and conductor. Biography and career Rudin was born in 1960, in Moscow, and he studied piano and cello at the Gnessin Institute before later studying conducting at the Moscow ...

(1976),

Michael Sanderling Michael Sanderling (born 21 February 1967) is a German conductor and violoncellist. Biography Born in East Berlin, Michael Sanderling is the son of the contrabassist Barbara Wagner and the conductor Kurt Sanderling. He received his first c ...

(1988), Richard Harwood (2004) * Flutists: Matthias Rust, Alison Mitchell (1984) * Singers:

Bruce Abel Bruce Abel (25 July 1936 – 10 March 2021) was an American bass singer. 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. H ...

(1964), Gábor Németh (1976), Jadwiga Rappé (1980),

Bogna Bartosz Bogna Bartosz (born in Gdańsk) is a Polish classical mezzo-soprano and alto. Career Bogna Bartosz studied voice at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and graduated with distinction. She then studied at the Berlin University of the Arts with Ingr ...

(1992),

Simone Kermes Simone Kermes (born 17 May 1965, in Leipzig) is a German coloratura soprano, especially known for her virtuoso voice, suited to the opera seria genre of the Baroque and early Classical period. Career Kermes has performed at many importa ...

Christoph Genz Christoph Genz (born 1 March 1971 in Erfurt) is a German tenor in opera and concert. Career Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied music at King's College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the King's College Choir. He s ...

Ekkehard Abele Ekkehard 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 Hi ...

(1996),

Jan Kobow Jan Kobow (born 1966) 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 stud ...

(1998),

Franziska Gottwald Franziska Gottwald (born in Marburg) is a German mezzo-soprano singer in opera and concert. Career Franziska Gottwald received her first voice training at the age of 16 with Eugen Rabine and studied voice at the Academies of Music in Saarbr� ...

(2002),

Dominik Wörner Dominik Wörner (born 1970) is a German classical bass singer in concert, Lied and opera. He is a specialist in Baroque music, especially works by Bach, but is open to music of other eras including contemporary music. Career Born in Grünst ...

(2002),

Markus Flaig Markus Flaig (born 1971) is a German bass-baritone who has focused on concerts and recordings of sacred music. Career Markus Flaig was born in Horb am Neckar. He studied sacred music and school music, then voice with Beata Heuer-Christen in F ...

(2004),Hongyi Cai(2022)

Jury

President:

Robert D. Levin Robert David Levin (born October 13, 1947) is an American classical pianist, musicologist and composer, and served as the artistic director of the Sarasota Music Festival from 2007 to 2017. Education Born in Brooklyn, Levin attended the Brookly ...

(since 2002) Members of jury have included: * Pianists: Dmitri Shostakovich (1950),

Jan Ekier Jan Stanisław Ekier (29 August 1913 – 15 August 2014) was a Polish pianist and composer known for his authoritative edition of Chopin's music for the Chopin National Edition. Biography Ekier was born in Kraków, Poland. As a youth, he ...

(1964),

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he perform ...

(2006), Bruno Canino (2006),

Malcolm Bilson Malcolm Bilson (born October 24, 1935) is an American pianist and musicologist specializing in 18th- and 19th-century music. He is the Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Bilson is one of the foremost playe ...

(chairmaster of pianists – 2010),

João Carlos Martins João Carlos Gandra da Silva Martins (); born June 25, 1940, in Sao Paulo, Brazil) is an acclaimed Brazilian classical pianist and conductor, who has performed with leading orchestras in the United States, Europe and Brazil. He is celebrated a ...

(2010),

Bernard Ringeissen Bernard Ringeissen (born 15 May 1934) is a French classical pianist. He was born in Paris in 1934. His first teacher, at age 7, was Georges de Lausnay. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in 1947, aged 12, and won the Pr ...

(2010),

Tamás Vásáry Tamás Vásáry (; born 11 August 1933) is a Hungarian concert pianist and conductor. Biography and career Vásáry was born in Debrecen, Hungary, and made his stage debut at the age of 8, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D major, K.107 ...

(2010), Fanny Waterman (2010) * Harpsichordists: Magdalena Myczka (2000, 2010),

Bob van Asperen Bob van Asperen (born 8 October 1947, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch harpsichordist and early keyboard instrument performer, as well as a conductor. He graduated in 1971 from the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studied the harpsichord with Gustav Leonh ...

(2006),

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of Concerto Cope ...

(2006),

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for wh ...

(2006),

Richard Egarr Richard Egarr (born 7 August 1963) is a British conductor and keyboard player. Biography Born in Lincoln, Egarr received his early musical training as a choirboy at York Minster and at Chetham's School of Music. He was an organ scholar at Clar ...

(2010), Robert Hill (chairmaster of harpsichordists – 2010),

Andrea Marcon Andrea Marcon (born 6 February 1963 in Treviso, Italy) is an Italian conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and scholar. In 1997, he founded the Venice Baroque Orchestra.Kozinn, Alla"Young Italians Stand at Attention, Which Their Ensemble Attracts" ...

(2010), Andreas Staier (2018) * Organists: Bronisław Rutkowski (1964, died during the competition),

(2012),

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

(chairmaster – 2012) * Christopher Hogwood has served as a juror in the vocal category in 2012 * Violinists:

Reinhard Goebel Reinhard Goebel (; born 31 July 1952 in Siegen, West Germany) is a German conductor and violinist specialising in early music on authentic instruments and professor for historical performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Goebel received his fi ...

(2018)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Music competitions in Germany Events in Leipzig 1950 establishments in East Germany