Apliccants wanted!
"Early Music Prize 2024/2025 "
The Early Music Prize, organised by Saarland Radio (Saarländischer Rundfunk) and the Saarland Academy of Ancient Music (Akademie für Alte Musik im Saarland) aims to promote outstanding performance by young ensembles who specialise in historical performance practice.
We are looking for ensembles with a variety of line-ups (vocal, instrumental, or involving related art-forms) which draw on the wealth of historical sources to create new and exciting approaches and then present them in convincing musical ways. Have we reached „the ‘end’ of Early Music“, as Bruce Haynes titles his famous book? Surely not! Again and again, new approaches are developed. We are excited about the new ideas of the younger generation.
Our combination of masterclasses together with a competition is unique, and is intended primarily to help offer long-term artistic support with a renowned musician and performance professor.
Masterclass an Project with the SR
Three ensembles selected from the applications will win the chance to attend a four-day masterclass (in 2025 with Professor Martin Gester), in whose centre work towards the final concert will take place. After intensive preparation, the ensembles will then present their programme to the jury and audience in the final. The jury will decide on the results, and each of the three ensembles will win a cash prize. The first prize is linked to a project with Saarländischer Rundfunk.
Martin Gester
As a performer, Martin Gester is a prime example of a Baroque musician. Open and versatile, he commands a wide ranging repertoire, whether as the conductor of ensembles, choirs and orchestras (such as the New York Collegium, the Collegium Vocale Gent, La Chapelle Royale, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and the Polish ensembleArte dei Suonatori), as a soloist or as a chamber musician. His interpretative approach seeks to make the most of historical contexts, and attempts to re-establish connections that seemed lost. He draws inspiration not only from studying the scores, but also from the dance, theatre and literature of the relevant period.
With Le Parlement de Musique, which Gester founded in 1990, he has produced some forty CDs, which have been hailed by the music press as outstanding pioneering achievements. His repertoire ranges from the late Renaissance to the Classical period, from T. L. de Victoria (1598) to Joseph Haydn (1798). Some of his CDs are considered definitive recordings throughout the world. As a concert organist and chamber musician (both on the harpsichord and fortepiano), he is particularly interested in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and his period. Invitations to tour and festival appearances have taken him to concert halls throughout the world. He holds a professorship at the Conservatoire and the Académie Supérieure de Musique in Strasbourg, regularly gives masterclasses (in Poland, Italy, Australia and Brazil, amongst others) and often appears on competition juries.
Informations
Prizes
1. Preis: 1200.- Euro und Produktion beim SR
2. Preis: 1000.- Euro
3. Preis: 800.- Euro
Publikumspreis
Prize committee
Prof. Martin Gester (Strasbourg)
Bernhard Stilz (Akademie für Alte Musik)
Simon Böckenhoff (SR)
Joachim Fontaine (HfM Saar und Akademie für Alte Musik)
Nike Keisinger (SR-Musikredakteurin i.R.)
Prof. Frank Woerner (HfM Saar)
Requirements for participants
In 2024, young ensembles with a variety of line-ups, of at least four musicians, may apply. Repertoire can include music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the more varied the better. The entire programme should involve as many musicians as possible.
The age limit is 35. All ensemble members must therefore have been born after 1 September 1989.
For the completed application, an artistic biography, photographs and samples of musical work are required. Demo recordings should be without cuts or post-production, and of a maximum of 30 minutes in total. The quality of the recording is not important.
Applications should be made using the online form.
Closing date for applications: 2. February 2025
Contact for further informations
Saarländischer Rundfunk
66100 Saarbrücken
Tel. +49 681 / 602 2220
E-Mail: mbreher@sr.de
Akademie für Alte Musik im Saarland
Tel. +49 681 / 910 2485
Email: foerderpreis@alte-musik-saar.de
Timetable
Selection of the three successful groups will be announced in Mid February 2025
Masterclasses with Martin Gester
27.- 30.03.2025
Hochschule für Musik Saar,
Bismarckstraße 1, 66111 Saarbrücken
Start: 10.00 Uhr
Travel and accommodation costs are not covered. Affordable accommodation will be recommended by the promoter.
Final concert and live recording with SR: Sunday, 30. March 2025, 20.00 Uhr
In the great hall of the Hochschule für Musik Saar
Performance of each of the three ensembles (max. 25 minutes)