Youth Prize of the Walther von der Vogelweide Preis Foundation Announces Winner

Violinist Julian Kainrath wins the €1,000 prize which recognizes artistic and scientific achievements in South Tyrol, Italy

Each year, the Walther von der Vogelweide Prize Foundation awards one of its three prizes: the main prize (€5,000), the sponsorship prize (€4,000), and the youth prize (€1,000). The prizes were established in 1960 by the Kulturwerk für Südtirol in Munich to recognize artistic and scientific achievements in South Tyrol.

2024 sees the awarding of the Youth Prize, which honors an exceptional young musician, to violinist Julian Kainrath.

Born in Merano, Italy in 2005, Kainrath is presently a student of Boris Kuschnir at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz in the highly gifted program. He also studies at the Döbling Music School in Vienna, where Tatjana Sotriffer coaches him in chamber music.

At the age of 10, he won first prize in the national "Prima la musica" competition, and that same year he made his solo debut in Bolivia. He has made concert appearances in the USA, Kiev, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz, Vienna, Luxembourg, Bergerac, Bern, Marseille, Liechtenstein, Munich, Schwarzenberg, Milan, Trieste, Vercelli, Verona, Bolzano, and Merano.

In 2019, Kainrath became the youngest Student in Residence at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein, and he also took part in the Verbier Festival Academy. In 2022, he received the Discovery Award of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA).

During the 2023/24 season, Kainrath made his debut with the Leverkusen Sinfonia in Germany and the Orchestra dell’Università degli Studi in Milano — and performed at the Società del Quartetto di Bergamo, at the Amici della Musica in Padova, at the Austrian Cultural Center in Washington DC, and at the Festival Jeunes Talents in Cannes.