Applications Open to Italy's Gustav Mahler Academy

Based in Bolzano, Italy, the two year summer academy is open to young musicians born between January 1, 1997, and July 25, 2005

Italian conductor Claudio Abbado established the Gustav Mahler Academy to bring together talented young musicians and internationally renowned teachers beyond the context of universities and conservatories. Since the Academy’s inception, over 1000 young musicians have attended its courses, masterclasses, and concerts.

The Gustav Mahler Academy is now organized as a biennial program, to offer a deeper and more sustainable learning experience. In case of a successful audition, students will be admitted to both summer academies in 2023 and 2024 and expect to participate in both.

Open to talented young musicians of any nationality born between January 1, 1997, and July 25, 2005, the academy is accepting applications from students of the violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and timpani. To apply, participants may not have a permanent position as a concertmaster or as a teacher.

The 2023 guest faculty include violinists Gregory Ahss and Kerson Leong, violist Veronika Hagen, cellist Alban Gerhardt, double bassist Rick Stotijn, and clarinetist Olivier Patey.

Additionally, several key musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra teach at the Gustav Mahler Academy as Resident Tutors. They play in chamber music groups with the students and perform side by side with them in an MCO-size chamber orchestra, conducted by one of the MCO’s regular conductors.

The Gustav Mahler Academy I will take place from July 25 – August 11, 2023. Students will receive individual lessons, take part in the world premiere of 11.000 Saiten for 50 pianos and ensemble by Georg Friedrich Haas, and perform chamber music with musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, as well as in an MCO-size chamber orchestra under the direction of composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher.

Academy II will take place from August 25 — September 15, 2024. Students will have the opportunity to play the instruments of the Vienna Philharmonic from 1900 and gain knowledge in the performance practice of late romantic music. Along with 50 musicians from top European ensembles, students will work with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and conductor Philipp von Steinaecker on Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto and Mahler’s 5th Symphony in a full-size symphony orchestra. After concerts in Toblach and Bolzano, the orchestra will tour to Paris, Cologne, and other European cities to perform this music for the first time since 1910 on the instruments it was written for.

Deadline for submission of applications: April 11, 2023. To apply, click here.