The ARD International Music Competition (German: Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD) is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is held once a year in Munich.
Since its inception in 1952, the ARD International Music Competition has become one of the most prestigious classical music competitions. It was started by the broadcasting corporations of what was once known as the Federal Republic of Germany. It is run under the backing of the Bayerischer Rundfunk and takes place usually in September. Winning a prize at this ARD International Music Competition has been an enormous aid for internationally famous artists such as Jessye Norman, Francisco Araiza, Natalia Gutman, Christoph Eschenbach, Anna Malikova, Nobuko Imai, Mitsuko Uchida, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuri Bashmet, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Heinz Holliger, Isabelle Moretti, Peter Sadlo, and Maurice André, to name just a few.
The ARD International Music Competition has its roots in an earlier competition. Between 1947 and 1950 the Frankfurter Rundfunk assisted this "Young Soloists Competition". The earliest competition discovered two female vocalists who would soon take their place among the international talented: Christa Ludwig and Erika Köth. Instrumentalists included the flautist Karl-Heinz Zöller and the pianist Robert Alexander Bohnke. This newly founded ARD continued the concept of bringing together talented young musicians from the entire globe.
The first ARD International Music Competition took place in 1952. What makes this competition so unique is that the categories alter from year to year to include solo instruments, as well as voice and chamber ensembles. The importance of including modern music has been very prominent; contemporary composers have regularly been commissioned to write new pieces for this Competition ever since the year 2001. The ARD International Music Competition not only stimulates competition among the many musicians but also serves the musical citizens as a centre where musicians can meet.
Anywhere from 350 to 450 young musicians apply each year to compete. Some 200 candidates coming from 35 to 40 countries make it past the preliminary round. A large percentage of competitors come from countries other than Germany (up to 86%) and this provides the highest levels of competition.
From 2001 to 2005, Christoph Poppen, then the conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, has been Artistic Director of the ARD International Music Competition. Ingeborg Krause took over the task of organising the competition that same year, after serving 35 years as the head of another famous German competition called the "Jugend musiziert".
In 2007, the ARD International Music Competition was in September for the categories of oboe, trombone, percussion and piano trio. Original compositions by Johannes Maria Staud, Søren Nils Eichberg, Jörg Widmann and Maricio Kagel are required to be played.
Voice (male)
1st Prize: Alfred Kim, Korea
Piano
2nd Prizes (shared): Severin von Eckardstein, Germany; Oliver Kern, Germany
Violin
2nd Prize: Bin Huang, V.R. China
3rd Prizes (shared): Andrei Bielov, Ukraine; Francesco Manara, Italy
Horn
2nd Prizes (shared): Alessio Allegrini, Italy; László Seemann, Hungary
3rd Prize: Sibylle Mahni, Switzerland
Organ
2nd Prize: Martin Kaleschke, Germany
Voice (female)
1st Prize: Zoryana Kushpler, Ukraine
3rd Prizes (shared): Stefanie Krahnenfeld, Germany; Christa Mayer, Germany
Voice (male)
1st Prize: Konrad Jarnot, Great Britain
2nd Prize: Nathaniel Webster, USA
3rd Prize: Friedemann Röhlig, Germany
Viola
2nd Prize: Danuta Waskiewicz, Germany
Flute
2nd Prizes (shared): Rozàlia Szabó, Hungary; Henrik Wiese, Germany
3rd Prize: Kersten McCall, Germany
Piano Duo
1st Prize: Mati Mikalai / Kai Ratassepp, Estonia
2nd Prize: Duo d'Accord, Taiwan/Germany
String Quartet
2nd Prize: Avalon String Quartett, France/Canada/USA
3rd Prize: Quartetto Prometeo, Italy
Violin
2nd Prize: Annette von Hehn, Germany
3rd Prizes (shared): Min Jung Kang, Korea; Yamei Yu, Germany
Cello
1st Prize: Danjulo Ishizaka, Germany
2nd Prizes (shared): Julie Albers, USA; Monika Leskovar, Croatia
3rd Prize: Thomas Carroll, Great Britain
Saxophone
2nd Prize: Alexandre Doisy, France
3rd Prizes (shared): Lutz Koppetsch, Germany; Julien Petit, France
Percussion
1st Prize: Marta Klimasara, Poland
2nd Prize: Eirik Raude, Norway
3rd Prize: Christophe Roldan, France
Wind Quintet
1st Prize: Miró Ensemble, Spain
2nd Prize: Orsolino Quintett, Germany/Austria
3rd Prize: St. Petersburg Woodwind Quintet, Russia
Bassoon
2nd Prize: Matthias Rácz, Germany
3rd Prizes (shared): Jaakko Luoma, Finland; Lyndon Watts, Australia
Oboe
3rd Prizes (shared): Nora Cismondi, France; Alexandre Gattet, France; Keiko Inoue, Japan
Piano
1st Prize: Denys Proshayev, Ukraine
2nd Prize: Ferenc Vizi, Romania
3rd Prize: Chiao-Ying Chang, Taiwan
Piano Trio
2nd Prizes (shared): Trio con Brio, Denmark/Korea; Trio Ondine, Sweden/Denmark/Norway
Voice (female)
1st Prize: Marina Prudenskaja, Russia
2nd Prizes (shared): Andrea Lauren Brown, USA; Measha Brueggergosman, Canada
3rd Prize: Julia Sukmanova, Russia
Voice (male)
1st Prize: Gérard Kim, Korea
3rd Prizes (shared): Tyler Duncan, Canada; Günter Papendell, Germany
Double Bass
1st Prize: Nabil Shehata, Germany
2nd Prize: Roman Patkoló, Slovakia
3rd Prize: Ödön Rácz, Hungary
Clarinet
2nd Prize: Olivier Patey, France
3rd Prize: Florent Pujuila, France
Trumpet
1st Prize: David Guerrier, France
2nd Prize: Giuliano Sommerhalder, Switzerland
3rd Prizes (shared): Gabor Richter, Hungary; Guillaume Couloumy, France
Viola
1st Prize: Antoine Tamestit, France
2nd Prize: Ryszard Groblewski, Poland
3rd Prize: Tomoko Akasaka, Japan
Flute
1st Prize: Magali Mosnier, France
2nd Prize: Pirmin Grehl, Germany
3rd Prize: Andrea Oliva, Italy
String Quartet
1st Prize: Quatuor Ébène, France
2nd Prize: Faust Quartett, Germany
3rd Prize: Quatuor Benaïm, Israel/France
Harp
1st Prize: Anton Sie, Netherlands
2nd Prize: Nabila Chajai, France
3rd Prize: Mirjam Schroder, Germany
Violin
1st Prize: Keisuke Okasaki, Japan
2nd Prize: Akiko Yamada, Japan
3rd Prize: Katja Lämmermann, Germany
Cello
1st Prize: Jing Zhao, China
2nd Prize: Alexander Bouzlov, Russia
3rd Prize: Alexander Chaushian, Armenia/Great Britain
Horn
1st Prize: Szabolcs Zempléní, Hungary
2nd Prizes (shared): Louis-Philippe Marsolais, Canada; Renate Hupka, Germany
3rd Prize: Christoph Eß, Germany
Piano Duo
2nd Prizes (shared): Victor y Luis del Valle, Spain; Piano Duo Poskute – Daukantas, Lithuania
3rd Prize: Silivanova – Puryzhinskiy, Russia
Voice/Opera
1st Prize: Jun Mo Yang, Korea
2nd Prize: Joshua Hopkins, Canada
3rd Prizes (shared): Ilse Eerens, Belgium; Anna Kasyan, Armenia
Voice/Lied
2nd Prizes (shared): Roxana Constantinescu, Rumania; Carolina Ullrich, Chile/Germany
3rd Prizes (shared): Colin Balzer, Canada; Peter Schöne, Germany
Piano
1st Prize: Benjamin Kim, USA
2nd Prizes (shared): Hisako Kawamura, Japan; Marianna Shirinyan, Armenia
Wind Quintet
1st Prize: Quintette Aquilon, France
2nd Prize: Quintett Chantily, Germany/Hungary/Russia/Finland
3rd Prize: Weimarer Bläserquintett, Germany
Oboe
1st Prize: Ramón Ortega Quero, Spain
2nd Prize: Ivan Podyomov, Russia
3rd Prize: Maria Sournatcheva, Russia
Trombone
1st Prize: Fabrice Millischer, France
2nd Prize: Frederic Belli, Germany
3rd Prize: Juan Carlos Matamoros, Spain
Percussion
1st Prize: Johannes Fischer, Germany
2nd Prize: Vassilena Serafimova, Bulgaria
Piano Trio
1st Prize: Tecchler Trio, Switzerland/Germany
2nd Prize: Morgenstern Trio, Germany/France
3rd Prize: Trio Cérès, France
Viola
2nd Prize: Wen Xiao Zheng, China
3rd Prize: Teng Li, China
Clarinet
1st Prize: Sebastian Manz, Germany
3rd Prizes (shared): Shelly Ezra, Israel; Taira Kaneko, Japan
Bassoon
1st Prize: Marc Trénel, France
2nd Prizes (shared): Christian Kunert, Germany; Philipp Tutzer, Italy
3rd Prize: Václav Vonášek, Czech Republic
String Quartet
1st Prize: Apollon Musagete Quartett, Poland
2nd Prize: Afiara String Quartet, Canada
3rd Prizes (shared): Gémeaux Quartet, Germany/Switzerland; Verus String Quartet, Japan
Violin
1st Prize: Hyeyoon Park, Korea
2nd Prize: Kei Shirai, Japan
3rd Prize: Lily Francis, USA
Double Bass
1st Prize: Gunars Upatnieks, Latvia
2nd Prize: Stanislau Anishchanka, Belarus
3rd Prizes (shared): Olivier Thiery, France; Ivan Zavgorodniy, Ukraine
Voice
1st Prize: Anita Watson, Australia
2nd Prize: Sunyoung Seo, Korea; Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Germany
3rd Prize: Hye Jung Lee, Korea; Falko Hönisch, Germany
Flute
1st Prize: Loïc Schneider, France
2nd Prize: Daniela Koch, Austria
3rd Prize: Sooyun Kim, South Korea/USA
BR Klassik Prize: Ivannay Ternay, Ukraine
Cello
1st Prize: Julian Steckel, Germany
2nd Prize: Gen Yokosawa, Japan
3rd Prize: Tristan Cornut, France
Horn
1st Prize: Přemsyl Vojta, Czech Republic
2nd Prizes (shared): Dániel Ember, Hungary; Paolo Mendes, Germany
Piano Duo
2nd Prize: Hyun Joo & Hee Jin June – Remnant Piano Duo, South Korea
3rd Prize: Susan & Sarah Wang – DoubleWang Duo, USA
Special Prize: Pianoduo Groebner & Trisko, Austria
Oboe
2nd Prizes (shared): Tondre, France, with Public Prize; Ivan Podyomov, Russia
3rd Prize: Cristina Gómez Godoy, Spain; Marc Lachat, France
Organ
1st Prize: Schöch, Austria
2nd Prize: Anna-Victoria Baltrusch, German
3rd Prize: Lukas Stollhof, Dutch
Trumpet
1st Prize: Manuel Blanco Gómez-Limón, Spain
2nd Prize: Alexandre Baty, France
3rd Prize: Ferenc Mausz, Hungary, with Public Prize
Piano
1st Prize: Alexej Gorlatch, Ukraine, with Public Prize
2nd Prize: Tori Huang (Claire Huangci), USA
3rd Prize: Da Sol Kim, South Korea
Voice (male)
2nd Prizes (shared): Dashon Burton, USA; Hansung Yoo, South Korea, with Public Prize
3rd Prize: Kyubong Lee, South Korea
Voice (female)
1st Prize: Olena Tokar, Ukraine
2nd Prizes (shared): Sumi Hwang, South Korea; Anna Sohn, South Korea
3rd Prize: Sophia Christine Brommer, Germany, with Public Prize
Clarinet
2nd Prizes (shared): Sergey Eletskiy, Russia; Stojan Krkuleski, Serbia, with Public Prize; Annelien Van Wauwe, Belgium
String Quartet
1st Prize: Armida Quartett, Germany, with Public Prize
2nd Prize: Novus String Quartet, South Korea
3rd Prize: Calidore String Quartet, USA/Canada
Violin
2nd Prizes (shared): Bomsori Kim, South Korea; Christel Lee, USA, with Public Prize
Special Prize of the Munich Chamber Orchestra: Diana Tishchenko, Ukraine
Viola
1st Prize: Yura Lee, South Korea
2nd Prize: Kyoungmin Park, South Korea, with Public Prize
3rd Prize: Katarzyna Budnik-Gałązka, Poland
Prize for the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work: Adrien Boisseau, France
Special Prize of the Henning Tögel Talent Foundation for Outstanding Talents: Lydia Rinecker, Germany
Bassoon
2nd Prizes (shared): Sophie Dartigalongue, France, with Public Prize; Rie Koyama, Japan, with Prize for the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work
3rd Prize: María José Rielo Blanco, Spain, with BR-Klassik Online-Preis
Piano Trio
2nd Prizes (shared): Van Baerle Trio, Netherlands, with Public Prize; Trio Karénine, France, with Prize for the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work
