German Musical Instrument Fund Competition Names 2025 Winners

A total of 34 young artists will now have access to quality string instruments, including those crafted by Stradivari and Guadagnini 

Organized by the German Foundation for Music Life since 1994, the German Musical Instrument Fund houses around 250 historical string instruments, which are loaned to exceptional young musicians through an annual competition.

The competition’s 32nd edition saw 44 candidates audition before a five-member volunteer jury and public audience. In all, 34 were granted the loan of a valuable violin, viola, or cello, and six musicians extended the loan period of their instrument.

Among the instruments included a 1703 “Bund” Stradivari, which was awarded to violinist Tsukushi Sasaki; a 1772 Guadagnini awarded to Victoria Wong; and a c.1769 “ex-Kingman” Guadagnini awarded to Maxim Tzekov.  

Further, Oscar Benjamin Hollmer was awarded a cello by Lorenzo & Thomaso Carcassi, Florence c.1768, and Felix Brunnenkant received the Dr. Alexander Sikorski scholarship for a particularly talented cellist for the second time. 

More instruments included the 1874 and 1750 Vuillaume cellos, the c.1670-1689 Rogeri cello, plus violins made by contemporary master luthiers such as Stefan Peter Greiner, Philippe Augustin, and Haiko Seifert. 

Chaired by Hartmut Rohde, the 2025 jury comprised Sophia Jaffé, Tobias Feldmann, Tanja Tetzlaff, and Niklas Schmidt. 

The full list of winners and their instruments can be found here. 

“For young musicians in training, an outstanding instrument with which they can work on their sound is enormously important,” said the German Foundation for Music Life’s Managing Director, Bettina Bermbach. 

“We are happy that we can support our scholarship holders with instruments from the German Musical Instrument Fund,” she added. “The first competition here in Lübeck was a great success — Lübeck is a real city of music, the people of Lübeck took a big part in the event and supported us and the applicants a lot. I would like to thank them, as well as the Possehl Foundation, which made the competition possible, and the music academy, which welcomed us so hospitably.”

“I am delighted that, as a jury member, I have been able to get involved with the generation of young musicians and thus with the future of art and music in this country,” Rohde added. “At this competition, we heard many young artists who have already demonstrated a very high level of playing. I am delighted that we can help these young people to further develop their musical potential … Some of them will certainly follow in the footsteps of great artistic personalities. These violins, violas and cellos can be inspirations, companions and helpers.” 

A broadcast of the competition’s final concert can be heard on Deutschlandfunk radio on June 30, 2025.