Applications Open for the 2023 Carl Flesch Academy

Held from July 17–23 in Germany, the Academy is open to international violin, viola, cello, and double bass players, with applications closing on June 1, 2023

 

The annual Carl Flesch Academy officially launched in 1981 alongside the Baden-Baden Philharmonic and its general music director Werner Stiefel. 

Since then, over 3,000 top international emerging artists have gathered at the Academy, participating in workshops with renowned pedagogues, and going on to become leading musicians and soloists in major orchestras and ensembles, worldwide.

Teachers for the program’s masterclasses include the academy's artistic director, violinist Kirill Troussov, violinist Pierre Amoyal, violist Diemut Poppen, cellist István Várdai, and double bassist Janne Saksala.

The associate artists for these sessions are pianists Peter Wittenberg, Evgeny Sinaiski, Stephanie Gurga, Henri Bonamy, and Zsuzsa Bálint.

Held at the historical Cloister Lichtenthal retreat complex in Baden-Baden, the masterclasses will be hosted as four single-day lessons of 45 minutes for each participant across July 17–20, 2023, with an overall course fee of €699. The Academy will also involve chamber music groups and workshops.

In addition to the masterclasses, participants can also apply to perform publicly with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic. These soloists are chosen by the Academy’s executives and instructors following the screening of all application videos. Three participants from each of the five masterclasses will play in the public concerts, with the decisions to be announced on June 15, 2023. All other masterclass students will have the opportunity to play with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic for half an hour, non-publicly.

This year, the program’s prizes and scholarships are valued at over €20,000 . There are 16 prizes in total, including career development opportunities, grants, plus instrument strings and cases. Winners are selected by the Academy management on the recommendation of the string faculty.

Notable prizes involve the €2,000 Carl Flesch and Werner Stiefel Awards, each including performance opportunities with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic — during the Carl Flesch award-winners concert, and for the seasonal opening of the Patronatsgesellschaft, respectively.

Additionally, Germany’s G. Henle Publishing House will be hosting a sponsorship award for all participants. Valued at over €3,000, the award will supply students with printed scores for all pieces taught and performed at the Academy, free of charge. Teachers and students will also receive free access to the Henle Library App for one year.

This year, the two closing concerts of the Carl Flesch Academy will be recorded in full-length, on video. For those selected to play publicly with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, a free professionally recorded video of their performance, valued around €750, will be made available to the participant for any of their future applications. 

 

“The Carl Flesch Academy focuses on the qualified integration of course participants into a professional working environment,” explained the Academy’s managing director, Arndt Joosten. “This refers not only to the instrumental lessons, but also to the opportunities to work as an intensively observed soloist with a first-class professional orchestra. 

“The [Academy] also offers its participants a look behind the scenes of the professional orchestra and concert business in lectures and coaching sessions,” Joosten continued. “The soloists in our orchestra concerts take a live recording of their performance in the master concerts with them into their professional lives. In the evening chamber music rounds, contacts and networks are created that open up a new world for the young virtuosos.”

 

To apply for the Carl Flesch Academy, click here to fill out the online form. The deadline is June 1, 2023. Successful candidates will be notified by email on June 15, 2023.

 

“Records and CDs have given way to streaming services, and our concert culture is undergoing changes,” said Troussov. “In addition to an excellent musical education, it has become more and more important for aspiring classical musicians to market themselves with good websites, professional online videos and social-media channels with quality content, in order to stand out from the crowd. 

“We want to equip tomorrow's musicians with tomorrow's tools, to lay the foundation for the best possible development of their careers,” he continued. “I am delighted to have my long-time partners Pirastro, Gewa Music, The Violin Channel and G. Henle Verlag as generous supporters and prize sponsors of this unique academy!”

 

A pioneer in violin pedagogy, Carl Flesch resided in Baden-Baden from 1926 to 1935. His villa on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse became a hotspot for virtuosos coming to study with him at his summer masterclasses. Among his famed students included Henryk Szeryng, Ida Haendel, and Ginette Neveu.

Following the loss of his post at the Berlin Academy of Music and German citizenship in the 1930s due to the Nazi regime, Flesch fled Germany. For the next nine years, he moved around Europe, and in 1943, was able to teach again — accepting a role at the Lucerne Conservatory. Passing away in 1944, his legacy lives on in the Academy, soon to celebrate its 42nd edition.