NEWS

Winners of the 2nd International Hindemith Viola Competition Announced

After an outstanding final round in the Great Concert Hall of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, the prize winners of the 2nd International Hindemith Viola Competition have been announced. Congratulations to all winners!


🏆 Main Prizes

  1. 1st Prize: Ayaka Taniguchi (Japan)
  2. 2nd Prize: Yanan Wang (China)
  3. 3rd Prize: Martta Kunnola (Finland)

🎖 Special Prizes

  • Audience Prize: Ayaka Taniguchi
  • Walter Witte Prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work: Miranda Werner
  • Fondation Hindemith Prize for the best interpretation of Paul Hindemith’s Sonata Op. 25 No. 4: Ayaka Taniguchi
  • Prize for the best Moderation in the Semi-Final: Yanan Wang

The audience experienced three outstanding performances of individuality and artistry, who impressed with their versatility and musical depth.


We warmly congratulate all prize winners and thank the jury, the audience, and all partners for their great support!


The Team of the International Hindemith Viola Competition


Semi-Final: Finalists Announced

After two days of outstanding performances in the Semi-Final round, the three finalists of the 2nd International Hindemith Viola Competition have been announced. We warmly congratulate the finalists and thank all semi-finalists for their inspiring performances!


Finalists

  • Martta Kunnola (Finland)
  • Ayaka Taniguchi (Japan)
  • Yanan Wang (China)

The 8 Semi-Finalists

  • Xunyu Zhou (China)
  • Jaeyoung Kim (Korea)
  • An Maeyama (Japan)
  • Miranda Werner (USA)
  • Martta Kunnola (Finland)
  • Ayaka Taniguchi (Japan)
  • Jinglin Zhou (China)
  • Yanan Wang (China)

Final Round on October 15, 2025 (Great Concert Hall, HMTM)

Chamber Music Round: 4:30–6:15 PM
Concerto Round: 7:00–8:45 PM
Awards Ceremony: 9:45–10:00 PM


Final Programme

  • Claude Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp
  • Darius Milhaud: Concerto for viola and orchestra No. 1, Op. 108

For detailed information about the competition schedule and repertoire, please visit the Semi-Final page and the Final page.


July 2025:

Our wonderful preliminary jury has selected 27 violists from 18 different countries to perform in the live rounds of the 2nd International Hindemith Viola Competition in Munich. We are delighted to present these young musicians here. The next step on the way to Munich will be the online workshop led by Uta Sailer (BR-KLASSIK) on July 18 at 3:00 p.m. CET. We are particularly pleased to be able to offer this to all participants.

October 2024:

The 2nd International Hindemith Viola Competition will take place from October 7th to 15th, 2025 at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. We are confident that we will once again be able to host a first-class competition that will not only discover the best violists, but will also have much to offer for participants, music enthusiasts and the public.

Interesting programs, concerts, discussion panels, workshops and master classes in connection to the competition are planned, enabling the experience of exciting, inspiring, and enriching days with many great encounters in a variety of ways and with new ideas.

The reorganization of the semi-final of the competition, which is to be moderated by the artist, will present a new challenge and new enhancement.
We are looking for artistic personalities who can convey enthusiasm for music not only with their instrument, but also on a communicative and verbal level. In the semi-final, we therefore expect a creative, varied (several epochs are desired) and appealing concert program (in German or English) which will include moderation. With a total length of 60 minutes, its entirety should relate to Hindemith and contain a minimum of 12 to a maximum of 15 minutes of spoken word.

In preparation for this, we offer a two-hour online workshop before the competition under the guidance of a professional moderator (Uta Sailer, BR-KLASSIK) as well as an information sheet; and during the competition a three-hour face-to-face workshop, to facilitate the ability to put that which has been learned into practice.