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Fanny Mendelssohn Kompositionspreis
KlangART Vision meets FMFP
In partnership with the KlangART Vision Festival in Saxony-Anhalt, the Fanny Mendelssohn Promotion Prize (FMFP) was expanded in 2024 to include a newly created composition category for the first time. The “Fanny Mendelssohn Composition Prize” has since been awarded annually to young composers. The prize consists of a commission for a chamber music composition, for the realisation, world premiere and recording of which the winner receives a designated prize fund of 10.000 €.
One prize, two winners
A key feature of the prize is its close connection to the Fanny Mendelssohn Promotion Prize:
The composition is specifically developed for an existing artistic ensemble.
This benefits both sides equally:
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the award-winning composer
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as well as the performing musicians.
Line-up 2026
The 2026 commissioned composition should be based on the following line-up:
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Flute – Fabian Johannes Egger (Winner of the 2026 Fanny Mendelssohn Promotion Prize)
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Bassoon – Cosima Maria Heilmaier
Both musicians have received numerous awards and have distinguished themselves, amongst other things, as an ensemble at the national ‘Jugend musiziert’ competition.
Call for entries and selection
The call for entries for the Fanny Mendelssohn Composition Prize is issued annually following the FMFP jury meeting and after the announcement of the finalist(s) for whose ensemble the composition is to be written. A jury chaired by Martin Hoffmeister evaluates the submitted works and selects the winner from among the composers.
KlangART Vision as the prize-winning platform
The world premiere of the composition takes place as part of KlangART Vision in the presence of the composer and is performed live by the FMFP finalist.
In honour of
Fanny Mendelssohn
Opportunities for young talents
Like the FMFP the composition prize is also to be awarded in honour of Fanny Mendelssohn, who only found the courage in the final year of her life to have the first of her more than 450 compositions published. By joining forces, KlangART Vision and the FMFP aim to give young musicians the opportunity that Fanny was denied: to bring their visions and musical concepts to a wider audience.
Concerts
Where possible, concert appearances will be organized for the prize winner at our cooperation partners, the Felix Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, the Frauenkirche Dresden, Schloss Elmau or Schloss Düneck.
Sachsen-Anhalt and the Festival KlangART Vision
Mendelssohn in Sachsen-Anhalt
The Mendelssohn family’s roots lie in Saxony-Anhalt – the philosopher and Fanny’s grandfather was born in Dessau; today, the Moses Mendelssohn Academy in Halberstadt commemorates his work, from which a family of German scholars, artists and bankers emerged.
KlangArt Vision Festival
The KlangART Vision Festival is dedicated to contemporary music and, every year from March to June, puts the spotlight on musical creativity in Saxony-Anhalt. However, the festival is not tied to any particular genre or location; rather, it aims to ‘build bridges’, open up new spaces for music and facilitate unusual encounters between musicians and their audiences.
With its focus on Saxony-Anhalt and its strong local connection to the Mendelssohn family, the foundation was laid for the collaboration between KlangART Vision and the FMFP.
INFORMATION ABOUT PARTICIPATION
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Eligibility criteria:
Composers who are resident within the European Union and are no older than 35 years of age at the time of the respective application deadline are eligible to apply.
The full eligibility criteria can be downloaded here.
Application:
The application period is now open: applications can be submitted via the application form until 25 April 2026.
Prize Money:
The prize money of 10.000 € is earmarked for the following:
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the world premiere of the commissioned composition as part of the KlangART Vision festival
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a live video stream and the broadcast of the concert on all relevant social media channels, as well as for further use by the prize winner as a musical calling card
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a live audio production as a stream
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Performance opportunities at further concerts, including as part of the Fanny Mendelssohn Artists concert calendar
A jury chaired by the chair of the Fanny Mendelssohn Sponsorship Award will decide on the award of the composition prize by reviewing the applications received. The jury consists of five members.
The criterion for awarding the prize is merit, as demonstrated by the applicant’s previous compositional work.
The Fanny Mendelssohn Promotion Prize will propose a selected performer from among the Fanny Mendelssohn Artists and their instrumental ensemble for the musical realisation of the commissioned composition. The composition comprises a work of approximately 8 minutes’ duration in the instrumentation specified by the Fanny Mendelssohn Promotion Prize.
By submitting their application, the applicant undertakes, in the event of being awarded the prize, to complete the required commissioned composition within three months of the announcement and to provide the performance material free of charge.
The prize will be awarded during the world premiere of the commissioned composition, which will take place in autumn 2026 with a ceremony in Halberstadt.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Martin Hoffmeister (Vorsitz)
Martin Hoffmeister is editor-in-chief of Gewandhausradio. He previously worked as a senior editor and presenter for various cultural and classical music programmes on private and public radio. As a freelance journalist, he writes for countless national and international magazines and specialist journals and is responsible for several book projects. He is a jury and board member of the “International Classical Music Awards” and jury chairman of the “Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis”.
OUR JURY
Támas Pálfalvi
Ursula Haselböck, born in Vienna in 1981, joined Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on September 1, 2020 as managing director. After working for the Tonkünstler Orchester and the Grafenegg Festival, she moved to the Konzerthaus Berlin in 2013, where she headed the planning and conception of new festivals and formats. Through her many years of experience as a music manager, she is highly networked with the international music world and has extensive experience with the German funding landscape.
Mathias Rehfeldt
For the Munich-based composer and organist the interplay of sound, space and emotion lies at the heart of his work. He seeks out new forms of expression that interweave classical music, electronic soundscapes and cinematic dramaturgy. His works range from award-winning film scores to compositions for choir, orchestra, organ and chamber ensembles.
With his internationally acclaimed Dark Matter project Rehfeldt combines the powerful sound of the organ with futuristic synthesiser textures, thereby opening up new perspectives on one of the oldest instruments in musical history. He continues this idea of dialogue between the old and the new in his special project ‘Man and Machine’, which was created in cooperation with the Fanny Mendelssohn Award – a unique experiment in which one of his compositions is juxtaposed with a soundscape created by artificial intelligence.
Drawing on the emotional depth of Romanticism, Rehfeldt develops a distinctive musical language characterised by atmospheric richness, clear dramatic structure and a colourful sound palette.
Foto: Emanuel Klempa
Ivo Nitschke
Sarah Kesting studied music theatre sciences and business management in Bayreuth and Ferrara (Italy). During her studies she worked for singing agencies and the Bayreuth Festival. Her professional positions included the Nikolaisaal Potsdam / Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, the management of the program of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Munich concert management Hörtnagel. Since 2018 she has been planning the cultural program at Schloss Elmau as Artistic Director.
Prof. Sarah Maria Sun
In 1995, at the age of 6, Alexander Krichel began to play the piano. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London under Prof. Dmitri Alexeev and has won numerous national and international competitions. In 2013, he won the ECHO Classical Music Award as young artist of the year.
The organisers on the award
Heide Schwarzweller
Founder FMFP
"Fanny Mendelssohn is the inspiration behind the composition prize. The aim is to support equally talented young artists and provide them with a platform."
Markus Steffen
Artistic Director KlangART Vision
“The response so far confirms the importance and necessity of the prize in promoting young contemporary music. We are delighted to be able to present it for the third time as part of the festival – and we look forward to hearing the new music.”
