Bach in the spotlight

Competitions

26 August 2024

The Leipzig Bach Competition presents its winners in Organ, Voice, and Cello

Organ

Prizes :
1st prize: Julian Emanuel Becker (19), Leipzig
2nd prize : Jakub Moneta (19)
3rd prize: Grant Smith (24)

Jury :
Martin Schmeding (Chair), Michel Bouvard, Bine Bryndorf, Arvid Gast, Lorenzo Ghielmi, David Higgs, Jon Laukvik

Voice

Prizes :
1st prize: Lara Morger (31), Bern
2nd prize : Anton Haupt (27), Leipzig
3rd prize: Elena Elsa Tsantidis (24), Bremen

Jury:
Ton Koopman (Chair), Christoph Genz, Peter Harvey, Lisa Larsson, Margot Oitzinger, James Taylor, Johannette Zomer

Cello / Baroque Cello

Prizes :
1st prize: Victor Garcia Garcia (30)
2nd prize : Johannes Gray (27), Paris
3rd prize: Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi (30), Frankfurt

Jury:
Hidemi Suzuki(Chair), Phoebe Carrai, Timothy Eddy, Ophélie Gaillard, Jens Peter Maintz, Werner Matzke, Pieter Wispelwey

With a solemn and festive concert of its laureates at St. Thomas in Leipzig, the XXIV. Johann Sebastian Bach competition 2024 came to an end. 108 musicians from 19 countries competed for the title of "Bach Prize Winner" in the disciplines of organ, voice and vcello. Out of these, 18 young musicians were performing at the final. Three Bach prizes were awarded in each subject.

Julian Emanuel Becker, a 19-year old organist from Leipzig, won in the organ category, followed by Jakub Moneta (also 19, from Świdnica, Poland) and Grant Smith (24, from Houston). In the voice category, Lara Morger (31, from Sachseln, Switzerland) won first prize; in the cello and baroque cello category, the winner was Victor Garcia Garcia (30, from Sevilla).

The main prizes are listed with 10,000 euros in all three categories, and with 7,500 euros (2. Price) and 5,000 euros (3. Price). The Bach Prize winners 2024 can also look forward to numerous engagements.

"The increase in the quality of the performances has exceeded all expectations," says competition president Robert Levin. "In view of the outstanding dedication of the participants, our juries had a really hard time making their decisions," he explained. After 22 years in the position, the renown pianist, harpsichord player and Harvard professor hands over the competition management to Bachfest Director Michael Maul.

The Leipzig Bach Competition has been held since 1950 and is one of the most renowned music competitions worldwide. Organizing bodies are the Bach-Archiv Leipzig and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig. So far, the competition has been held every two years, alternating in the disciplines of piano, harpsichord, organ, violin, violoncello and singing. In the future, it will be organized annually and will focus on only one discipline. Piano will be featured in 2025, followed by Violin (2026) and singing (2027); historical keyboard instruments (2028) are initially planned for the following years. The period of the competition will be moved from July to March. The final should always be on the 21st. March, the birthday of the competition´s namesake, Johann Sebastian Bach.

©︎ WFIMC 2024