On Saturday 18 July, the University of Oldenburg will present this year’s Carl von Ossietzky Composition Prize to the best entries from among more than 200 piano compositions submitted. The award ceremony will be accompanied by a concert in which music students will give the world premiere of the prize-winning compositions – as well as several other works that received honours in the competition.
They have been working intensively on the pieces during the summer semester under the guidance of pianist Werner Barho. The event begins at 6.00 pm in the university’s auditorium (Haarentor campus, Building A11, Ammerländer Heerstraße 69).
Several of the prize-winners, who have already been announced, will accept their awards in person. Among them is the Bochum-based composer Jona Kümper, who will receive the first prize, worth 1,000 euros, for his composition ‘Musica viva – three variations for piano’.
The recipient of the ‘Special Youth Prize’, nine-year-old Myrsini Kagarlis from Greece, will also be present. She impressed the five-member international jury, chaired by university lecturer and composer Prof. Violeta Dinescu, with her work ‘The Dance of Colours’.
In total, entries from more than 40 countries were received for the 14th Carl von Ossietzky Composition Competition – which this year was open to piano compositions. The prize money is provided by the Oldenburg University Society (UGO).
The university awards the composition prize annually in memory of its namesake. The 15th competition is open to works for voice with oboe, bassoon, viola, cello and piano – in ensembles ranging from a duo to a sextet.
The award ceremony on 18 July will also mark the conclusion of this semester’s ‘Music of Our Time’ composers’ colloquium.
