ARD Musikwettbewerb: Munich turns Music City

The next edition of the ARD Musikwettbewerb will take place from the 5th until the 21st of September and feature 217 artists from all around the world. In over fifty years, the competition has turned into one of the major musical events on the scene, a cultural tourist attraction for Munich as well as a place where classical performers can present themselves and their art in a creative environment. What makes it different from many similarly organised concours is the fact that it does not concentrate on a single instrument and instead awards special attention to unusual, slightly less popular or even pretty leftfield instruments or instrumental combinations: This year, the ARD Musikwettbewerb will be battled out between oboists, percussionists, trombonists and a host of piano trios.

The nominees for this, the 56th edition, were selected by a CD recording of highly diverse pieces, which could range from Haydn and Brahms (for the trios) to much too early deceased Greek Avantgardist and Second Viennese School member Nikos Skalkottas. The range of repertoire was most colourful for the percussionists, who were invited to demonstrate their abilities on a range of different instruments, including scores of their choice for Marimbaphone. Live proceedings will start with the first round of the oboe competition, then move on until the finales between the 13th and 16th. Afterwards, the winners from all categories will be backed by different orchestras and be given the chance to shine in a concert, which will be based around an open program.

Past winners of the ARD Musikwettbewerb have included singer Jessye Norman, conductor Christoph Eschenbach, clarinetist Sharon Kam or violin master Yuri Bashmet.

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