The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition () is a music competition in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 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 wher ...

. 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 Pieter-Jan Belder (born 19 January 1966) is a Dutch instrumentalist in historically informed performance, playing recorder, harpsichord and fortepiano. He founded the ensemble Musica Amphion for recordings and performances. Career Born in Cape ...

(2000), Andrew Rosenblum (2018) * Pianists:

Tatiana Nikolayeva Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva (; May 4, 1924November 22, 1993) was a Soviet and Russian pianist, composer, and teacher. Life Nikolayeva was born in Bezhitsa, in the Bryansk Oblast, Bryansk district, on May 4, 1924. Her mother was a professional p ...

Margarita Fyodorova Margarita Alekseevna Fyodorova - Маргарита Алексеевна Фёдорова (4 November 1927 - 14 August 2016) was a Soviet Russian pianist, People's Artist of Russia. She won silver in the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competi ...

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 Waldemar Maciszewski (1927–1956) 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 Academy of Music in Krakó ...

(1950), Igor Lazko (1964),

Valery Afanassiev Valery Pavlovich Afanassiev (; born 8 September 1947) is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. Life Valery Afanassiev was born in Moscow. He studied piano at the Academic Music College and Moscow Conservatory with Emil Gilels and Yakov Zak ...

, Svetlana Navasardyan,

Ivan Klansky Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bu ...

(1968), Kei Itoh (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 pe ...

(1984), Nikolai Luganski (1988),

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

(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 w ...

(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 Hannover at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ...

(1998),

Martin Stadtfeld Martin Stadtfeld (born 19 November 1980) 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 profess ...

(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 (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and ...

(2006),

Ilya Poletaev Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, Ilija, or Illia ( , or ; ; ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/Jah." It comes from the Byzantine Greek pronunciation of the vocative (Ilía) of the Greek Elias ...

(2010),

Hilda Huang Hilda is one of several feminine 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. ...

(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 tran ...

* Organists:

Amadeus Webersinke Amadeus Webersinke (1920–2005) was a German pianist and organist. Webersinke studied from at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Leipzig with Karl Straube, Johann Nepomuk David, and Otto Weinreich. He was a lecturer at the Felix Mendelssohn Co ...

, Karl Richter,

Diethard Hellmann Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor, composer and academic teacher, first in Leipzig at the Friedenskirche and the Musikhochschule, then from 1955 in Mainz at the Christuskirche and the Peter Cornelius ...

(1950),

Daniel Chorzempa Daniel Walter Chorzempa (December 7, 1944 – March 25, 2023) was an American organist, composer and architect. Biography Daniel Chorzempa was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 7, 1944. He subsequently studied music and architecture at ...

(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 studi ...

(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 intern ...

(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 Pr ...

(1980), John Scott (1984), Balint Karosi (2008) * Violinists:

Alexei Gorokhov Aleksey Nikolaevich Gorokhov (; ; February 11, 1927, Moscow - February 3, 1999) was a Soviet violinist who lived most of his professional life in Ukraine. He is considered a founder of the modern Kiev violin school.Benty, Y. (2008) Kiev honored me ...

(1950),

Oleg Kagan Oleg Moiseyevich Kagan (Russian: Оле́г Моисе́евич Кага́н; 22 November 1946 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russian SFSR – 15 July 1990, Munich, West Germany) was a Soviet violinist, known for his chamber collaborations with such musicia ...

(1968),

Hiroko Suzuki , née , (born 1974) is a Japanese people, Japanese politician, professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work wi ...

, Johannes Ludwig Von Schwartz (1984),

Marat Bisengaliev Marat Bisengaliev (, born 1962 in Kazakhstan) is a Kazakh violinist and conductor of both the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra and TuranAlem Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the founding Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra of ...

(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 Mo ...

(1976), Michael Sanderling (1988),

Richard Harwood :''Richard Harwood is also the assumed name of National Front member Richard Verrall (political writer), Richard Verrall.'' Richard Craig Harwood (born 8 August 1979) is a British cellist. Biography Richard Harwood was born in Portsmouth, ...

(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. He wo ...

(1964),

Gábor Németh Gábor Németh (born 21 May 1975) is a Hungarian football player who plays for Répcelaki SE. Club career Szombathelyi Haladás Ha made his debut of 4 September 1996 against BVSC Budapest in a match that ended 2–1. Vasas SC He made his de ...

(1976),

Jadwiga Rappé Jadwiga Rappé (24 February 1952 – 16 May 2025) was a Polish contralto who made an international career in concert and opera, performing a wide range of repertoire. She was based at the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, and taught voice at the Fryderyk ...

(1980),

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

(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 important th ...

, Christoph Genz, Ekkehard Abele (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 studi ...

(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 Saarbrüc ...

(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 Grünstadt ...

(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 Fre ...

(2004), Hongyi Cai (2022)

Jury

President:

Robert D. Levin Robert David Levin (born October 13, 1947) is an American classical pianist, musicology, musicologist, and composer. He was a professor of music at Harvard University from 1994 to 2014 and the artistic director of the Sarasota Music Festival from ...

(since 2002) Members of jury have included: * Pianists:

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

(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 performed w ...

(2006),

Bruno Canino Bruno Canino (born 30 December 1935) is an Italian classical pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Early life Bruno Canino was born in Naples, Italy in 1935, where he studied piano with Vincenzo Vitale. He continued his musical education in ...

(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, New York Bilson is one of the foremost pl ...

(chairmaster of pianists – 2010),

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

(2010),

Bernard Ringeissen Bernard Ringeissen (15 May 1934 – 4 April 2025) was a French classical pianist. Biography Ringeissen was born in Paris on 15 May 1934. His first teacher, at age 7, was Georges de Lausnay. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Mu ...

(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 i ...

(2010),

Fanny Waterman Dame Fanny Waterman (22 March 192020 December 2020) was a British pianist and academic piano teacher, who is particularly known as the founder, chair and artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was also president of ...

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

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

(2006),

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 9 November 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 ...

(2006),

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, 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 whi ...

(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 of ...

(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 Andreas Staier (born 13 September 1955 in Göttingen) is a German pianist and harpsichordist. Life Staier studied piano and harpsichord in the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and Amsterdam. He studied piano with Kurt Bauer and Erika Haase, a ...

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

(2012),

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman (; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. He is a professor ...

(chairmaster – 2012) *

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...

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 firs ...

(2018)

References

External links

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