Competition 2021

The International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition is Vienna’s first and only regularly held competition for singers, dedicated exclusively to the Lied and Austrian composers. Next to famous names such as Schubert, Wolf and Mahler, the focus is also on a tone poet whose fame may have faded, but who remains unforgotten. The competition will take place in 2021 for the third time. Its goal is to give young talents a jump-start in their careers and the opportunity to prove themselves to a critical audience.

Helmut Deutsch

Helmut Deutsch ranks among the finest, most successful and in-demand song recital accompanists of the world. He was born in Vienna, where he studied at the Conservatory, the Music Academy and the University. He was awarded the Composition Prize of Vienna in 1965 and appointed professor at the age of twenty-four. Although he has performed with leading instrumentalists as a chamber musician, he has concentrated primarily on accompanying in song recitals. At the beginning of his career he worked with the soprano Irmgard Seefried, but the most important singer of his early years was Hermann Prey, whom he accompanied as a permanent partner for twelve years. Subsequently he has worked with many of the most important recital singers and played in the world’s major music centres. His collaborations with Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau and Michael Volle are currently among his most important. Helmut Deutsch was a professor of Art Song Interpretation in Vienna, Salzburg, Frankfurt and Munich, holds masterclasses worldwide and is a juror in numerous international competitions.

Competition

The following repertoire must be prepared (bindingly):

6 songs by Franz Schubert (no songs from the cycles)
6 songs by Hugo Wolf
4 songs by Gustav Mahler
4 songs by Alexander von Zemlinsky

Songs may not be repeated in later rounds. Transpositions are allowed. The songs must be sung without scores.

To Application

Procedure

Round 1:
Monday, 06th September 2021 & Tuesday, 07th September 2021

Time will be announced. NON-PUBLIC event.

2 songs of own choice from the chosen repertoire
min. 2 different composers
duration of program: max. 10 minutes

Round 2:
Wednesday, 08th September 2021 & Thursday, 09th September 2021

Time will be announced. Public event.

A total of 4 songs:

2 songs of own choice from the chosen repertoire
2 songs selected by jury
(1 song by A. v. Zemlinsky obligatory)
duration of program: max. 15 minutes

Round 3/Final:
Saturday, 11th September 2021

19:00. Public event, registration is requested. (office@hd-lied.net)

A total of 6 songs:

3 songs of own choice from the chosen repertoire
3 songs selected by jury
(2 songs by A. v. Zemlinsky obligatory)
duration of program: max. 25 minutes

All rounds are taking place at the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn
(Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Vienna, Austria).

The sheet music will be provided by mdw if not available.

Jury

HELMUT DEUTSCH
(Pianist, Jury Chairman)

KS. GABRIELE FONTANA
(Soprano)

When the austrian Soprano Gabriele Fontana marked her Debut at the Age of 21 as Pamina in the Frankfurt Opera House,she already was a Member in the Opera Studio at the Vienna State Opera, and had won the Bachprize at the international Competition in Leipzig, and the R. Tauber Memorial Prize in London. Her early Career continued when she became a member at the Hamburg State Opera, where she sang parts such as Pamina,Contessa,Fiordiligi,Elvira a.o. and where she created the Role of Sophie Scholl in U. Zimmermann´s “Weisse Rose”. Since then Fontana has been a regular presence at the world’s best opera houses making appearances in Hamburg,Berlin, Munich,Amsterdam, Barcelona, Geneva, Tokyo, Philadelphia, and New York with Major Roles like Fidelio, Chrysothemis,Kaiserin, Marschallin,Siglinde and Senta a.o.She has also been a regular performer at the Salzburg Festival and has made appearances at the Glyndebourne Festival, Vienna Festival, the Bregenzer Festspiele, the London Proms, Prague Spring Festival, and at festivals in Berlin, Dresden, Israel, the USA and Japan.

She has worked regularely with conductors as Blomstedt, Boulez, Barenboim, Davis, von Dohnanyi, Haitink, Leinsdorf, Mazur,.Mehta,Sawallisch, Tate, Welser-Möst u.o. A new „Ring“ Production brought Fontanas Debut in Bayreuth under Thielemann.
A wide Discography documents her artistic way, like “Schubert-Lieder”, Bach Cantatas, ZDENKA/Arabella and Rheingold for DECCA, ROSALINDE/Naxos, Moses ans Aron/DG, Lieder by H.Wolf/R.Strauss/Preiser and the first recording of all Songs by Clara Schumann.

Since 2007 she was o. Prof. for Lied and Oratorio at the Music University in Vienna, and has Masterclasses New York, Washington, Hamburg, England, Savonlinna, Amsterdam, Tokio, Taiwan.

© Katharina Schiffl

PROF. MECHTHILD BARTOLOMEY
(Artistic Director of Attergau Kultur)

Born in Innsbruck, Mechtild Bartolomey studied Music and Vocal Pedagogy and German Studies at the Vienna’s mdw, as well as Art History at the University of Vienna. She was a choir singer in the Wiener Singverein, the choir of the Wiener Musikverein, and worked regularly with Herbert von Karajan on all major choral works in literature. Later, she was a longtime member of the internationally renowned Arnold Schönberg Choir, collaborating with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. From 2004 to 2007 she was artistic director of the music festival at the Castello di Duino. Since 2009, Mechthild Bartolomey is Artistic Director of the Attergau Kultur (Kultursommer, New Years’ Concert), and 2017 she founded the “International Nikolaus Harnoncourt Tage”. She is responsible for the artistic program and organization of “Josefstädter New Years’ Concert” at the Theater in der Josefstadt, for the literary concepts for the programs MARLENE and ALLES LIEBE with the actress Ursula Strauss and the duo BartolomeyBittmann as well as for numerous musical-literary programs like “Speechless” with Karl Markovics, “Death & Resurrection” and “Songs without Words “with Peter Simonischek. She further engages in regular exchange with the organizers of Carinthischer Sommer and Neuberger Kulturtage, among others.

© Lukas Beck

MAG. ESTHER SCHOLLUM
(Director of the Opera and Concert Agency Esther Schollum Artists’ Management)

With a double major in Translation and Interpreting (French and Spanish) and ten years of experience in event management, press relations, communications and adult education, Esther Schollum founded Esther Schollum Artists’ Management in 1991 and has been working as an independent opera and concert agent on an international level. Since 2013 she has been a lecturer at three of the Austrian top universities in the field (MDW Vienna, KUG Graz, Mozarteum Salzburg) and has been sharing her extensive real-world knowledge with young artists, both about entering into an artist’s career and about working with agents, promoters and presenters.

© Akvile Sileikaite

CHRISTOPH BERNER
(Professor of song composition and chamber music at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK))

By winning the Boesendorfer Piano Competition in 1995, the 2nd prize of the International Beethoven Piano Competition in 1997 (Vienna) as well as the Mozart and Schumann prize at the Géza Anda Concours in 2003 (Zurich) Christoph Berner established his reputation as one of the leading pianists from Austria. Critics praise especially his enormous stylistic spectrum and musical versatility. He was engaged as a soloist with orchestras like the Moscow Tchaikowsky Orchestra, the Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Dresden Philharmonie, the Phiharmonie Bergen and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under conductors like Neeme Järvi, Michel Plasson, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Vladimir Fedosejev and Thomas Zehetmair. Among his chamber music partners are violinists Leila Schayegh and Julia Schröder, cellists Marko Ylönen and Roel Dieltins, clarinetist Laura Ruiz Ferreres and the Alban Berg Ensemble, Vienna.The close cooperation with tenor Werner Güra – the duo are often guests at festivals like the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Kissinger Sommer, the Dias da musica, Lisbon – is also documented by a number of critically acclaimed recordings for harmonia mundi. Furthermore, Christoph Berner performed together with singers, such as Marlis Petersen, Anke Vondung, Bernarda Fink, Genia Kühmeier, Markus Werba, Markus Eiche and Florian Boesch. Since 2014 he has been professor of Lied interpretation and chamber music at the Zurich university of arts.

MICHAEL KRAUS
(Head Coach of Vienna State Opera’s Young Artist Program, Austria)

Michael Kraus was born in Vienna. He first studied acting and for several years worked both as an actor and director. At the same time and to begin with as a hobby he studied singing at the Vienna Academy of Music. After finishing his vocal studies at the Academy of Munich and winning several prizes in international competitions, he set out on a professional career as an opera singer with engagements in Germany. Later he worked in Vienna as a member of the Volksoper and of the Staatsoper as well. In parallel he developed a busy guesting activity, which has led him into many international opera houses, like the Teatro alla Scala/Milan, Opéra Bastille/Paris, Covent Garden/London, Berlin, Hamburg, München, Dresden, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Zürich, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Barcelona, Torino, Geneva and Palermo. Moreover he has sung at the Glyndebourne Festival, the Schubertiade Feldkirch, the Bregenz and the Salzburg Festival. He sang in various productions of the Finnish National Opera.

Michael Kraus appeared in concerts and recitals in France, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Greece, Israel, Chile, Brazil, Switzerland and Japan. His discography includes Papageno under the direction of Sir Georg Solti and various recordings of DECCA’S series „Entartete Musik”.

Since the season 2020/21 Michael Kraus is alo the artistic director of the Young Artist Program of the Vienna Staatsoper.

THOMAS MITTERMAYER
(Artistic Administration, Musikverein Vienna)

Thomas Mittermayer was born in Melk / Donau in 1970. After an economic education, he studied Catholic church music, singing, organ, piano and ensemble conducting, and had various accompaniment activities. Thomas Mittermayer is currently Vice President of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, and has been employed in the Artistic Administration Office of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna since 1995. He is a juror at various national and international competitions.

Prizes

Prizes of the 3rd International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition

1. Prize: 10.000 Euro – provided by WCN – World Culture Networks

2. Prize: 5.000 Euro – provided by mdw

3. Prize: 2 golden Philharmonic coins worth 3.000 Euro – provided by Münze Austria

The singer will be invited to perform concerts together with Helmut Deutsch in 2021/22: