Three musicians play their way to the top
Bärenreiter donates a special prize at the Bach Competition, Leipzig
The 2026 Leipzig Bach Competition came to a close on 21 March, Johann Sebastian Bach’s 341st birthday, with a festive finale and subsequent prize-giving ceremony at the Luther Church in Leipzig. Twenty-six violinists from 14 countries had been competing since March 14 for the coveted title of “Bach Prize Winner.” Three musicians reached the final. The jury awarded 1st prize to Miha Zhu (Germany, violin, centre in photo). The 2nd prize went to Céleste Klingelschmitt (Baroque violin, photo left) from France, and the 3rd prize to Cosima Soulez-Larivière (Netherlands, violin, photo right). The prize-giving ceremony took place immediately after the final and was conducted by the competition’s Artistic Director, Michael Maul, and the 2026 Jury Chairman, Reinhard Goebel.
As in previous years, Bärenreiter donated a special “Bärenreiter Urtext Prize” in the form of a generous voucher for sheet music. (Photo: Bach Competition Leipzig/Gert Mothes)
