Winners announced at the 75th ARD International Music Competition

Enrico Bassi, William Fielding, Gabriel Michaud and the Viatores Quartet have taken the top prizes at one of classical music’s most prestigious competitions, which this year marked its 75th edition in Munich.

The winners of the 75th ARD International Music Competition have been decided, bringing to a close the competitive rounds of an anniversary edition featuring bassoon, organ, percussion and string quartet.

Italian bassoonist Enrico Bassi won first prize in the bassoon category, while William Fielding took first prize in organ. French percussionist Gabriel Michaud won the percussion competition, whose final was held on Sunday, 13 September, and the Viatores Quartet took the top prize in string quartet.

Founded in 1952 by the public broadcasting organisations of what was then West Germany and held under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, the ARD International Music Competition has become one of the most important competitions of its kind. Unlike many events centred on a single instrument, its disciplines rotate from year to year and encompass singing, chamber music and almost every orchestral instrument. Sir Simon Rattle has described it as the “Olympic Games of music”.

Its list of former prizewinners gives an indication of the competition’s significance. Jessye Norman, Mitsuko Uchida, Christoph Eschenbach, Thomas Quasthoff, Christian Tetzlaff, Sol Gabetta, Yuri Bashmet, Heinz Holliger, Maurice André and Quatuor Ébène are among the musicians whose careers included early recognition at ARD. Norman won first prize in voice in 1968, while Uchida received third prize in piano two years earlier.

The scale of the anniversary edition was substantial. 184 musicians from 32 countries, selected from 492 applications, qualified to compete in Munich. Organ returned to the competition after a 15-year absence, alongside bassoon, percussion and string quartet.

In bassoon, Bassi received the €15,000 first prize, ahead of Jappe Dendievel, who took second prize and the Audience Award, and Laure Thomas, who placed third. Johanna Bilgeri received the special prize for the best performance of the commissioned work by Nina Šenk.

Fielding also received €15,000 as the organ winner. Alexis Grizard placed second and received the Audience Award, with Julian Emanuel Becker in third place. Mélodie Michel and Silvan Meschke shared the special award for their performances of Enjott Schneider’s commissioned work.

The string quartet competition produced an especially strong result for the Viatores Quartet, which won the €30,000 first prize as well as the special prize for the best performance of Camille Pépin’s commissioned composition. Quartet Fugue and the Katarina String Quartet were the other ensembles to reach the final.

The competition concluded its final round on 13 September with percussion. Gabriel Michaud of France emerged as the first-prize winner after a final against Yuan Xia, held at Munich’s Herkulessaal with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bar Avni. The percussion jury was chaired by Austrian percussionist Martin Grubinger.

The competition now moves from the competitive rounds to its traditional Prizewinners’ Concerts, scheduled for 16, 17 and 18 September. The final concert will bring prizewinners together with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies.

For the newest generation of ARD winners, the prizes carry significance well beyond their monetary value. The competition offers international exposure, broadcasts and further concert opportunities — the same combination that has helped turn an ARD distinction into a career milestone for musicians over more than seven decades.