Bach Competition meets Bachfest

Compulsory programme, March 2025

The first Bach Competition took place in 1950. On the jury sat no other than Dmitri Shostakovich. Tatjana Nikolayeva won, and Shostakovich composed and subsequently dedicated to her his 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87, – a great story!
Seventy-five years later, the Bach Competition hopes to write history once again, focusing entirely on the Piano category. In mid-March 2024, young pianists from all over the world will travel to Leipzig to play for the coveted prize before a select jury.
A finale on Bach’s birthday, broadcast worldwide: The three finalists will compete against one another on 21 March, the 340th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s birth, in the great hall of the Gewandhaus. They will play the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903, and a piano concerto of their choice composed by one of the great Bach advocates of the 19th century, accompanied by the MDR Symphony Orchestra. And the best of it is: you can be there! The final will be livestreamed all over the world. Which of course means that you will be able to vote online for the person you feel deserves the coveted Audience Award.

Double honours for the laureates at the Bachfest

One of the responsibilities of a competition, after the compulsory programme proper, is also to smooth the path of the three prizewinners to major concert platforms. And the major Bach concert platforms in Leipzig are those of the Bachfest. This is why we are going to make it a tradition to give the Bach Competition winner the chance to show what they can really do in a major recital at the Bachfest. Leipzig’s most famous piano platform, the great hall in the Gewandhaus, and a Blüthner grand piano have been reserved for the occasion. We’re excited to see who will walk onstage on the evening of the Bachfest opening concert – and looking forward to a select programme centred on Johann Sebastian Bach.
But that’s not all: the Gewandhaus is offering all three laureates a platform during the Bachfest. They are invited to appear together with the Gewandhaus Orchestra, performing on three pianos in the Concerto in D minor, BWV 1063 – an excellent opportunity to show the audience their special skills when it comes to Bach!
 

Thu, 12 June / 8.00 pm / Solo-Recital: Winner oft he 2025 Bach Competition / Gewandhaus, Großer Saal / No 2
A cooperation between Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik and Bachfest
 

Thu, 19 June / 7.30 pm / Großes Concert / Gewandhaus, Großer Saal / No 136
Fri, 20 June / 7.30 pm / Großes Concert / Gewandhaus, Großer Saal / No 155
A Gewandhaus event