Applications Open for the 2024 Carl Flesch Academy

Held from July 7–14 in Germany, the Academy is open to international violin, viola, cello, and double bass players

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.

The academy will take place from July 7 to 14, 2024, at the Lichtenthal Abbey, Baden-Baden, with an overall course fee of €799.

Teachers for the program’s masterclasses include the academy's artistic director, violinist Kirill Troussov, violinist Boris Kuschnir, violist Máté Szücs, cellist Kian Soltani, and double bassist Janne Saksala. The associate artists for these sessions are pianists Peter Wittenberg, Henri Bonamy, and Zsuzsa Bálint.

The masterclasses will be hosted as four single-day lessons of 45 minutes for each participant across July 7 – 10. The Academy will also involve chamber music groups and workshops. The chamber music initiatives will include a public concert on July 13, and be lead by Saule Tatubaeva.

This year, prizes with a total value of more than 15,000 € will be awarded to the participants of the Carl Flesch Academy — including career development opportunities, grants, plus instrument strings and cases.

Additionally, the academy offers selected students the unique opportunity of a public performance with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, conducted by the principal conductor Heiko Mathias Förster. After the first masterclasses, the executives and instructors of the Carl Flesch Academy will select three participants for the public concerts. All other master-class participants will have the chance to perform non-publicly with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic for 20 minutes.

The two master concerts are scheduled for July 11 and 12, 2024, both at 8 p.m at the Weinbrenner Hall of the Kurhaus Baden-Baden.

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.

To apply for the Carl Flesch Academy, click here to fill out the online form. The application deadline is April 1, 2024. Successful candidates will be notified by email on May 1, 2024.

As an applicant, please let the academy know whether you would like to perform with the Baden-Baden orchestra. Participants who wish to perform publicly with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic must submit three repertoire proposals with their application.