Beethoven Prize

Beethoven Prize
Awarded for	"the best orchestral work of a young composer"
Location	Bonn
Country	Germany
Reward(s)	25,000DM
First awarded	1961
Last awarded	1992

The Beethoven Prize of the city of Bonn was an international composition competition. In 1959 Bonn's Lord Mayor Wilhelm Daniels announced the establishment of a Beethoven prize for "the best orchestral work of a young composer".^[1] No restrictions were made to genre, style and instrumentation of the composition.^[1] The prize was given every 3 years, the prize money was 25,000DM (1961: biennially, 5,000DM). The prize was last awarded in 1992. Other Beethoven Prizes existed in Vienna and Berlin.

Recipients

• 1961 Heimo Erbse for Pavimento, op. 19, for large orchestra^[2]
• 1963 Milko Kelemen for Transfiguration for piano and orchestra
• 1967 György Ligeti for Requiem^[3]
• 1970 Klaus Huber for Tenebrae^[4]
• 1974 Bruno Maderna for Aura for orchestra (posthum), Peter Michael Hamel for Dharana, Chris Hinze for Live Music Now
• 1977 Iannis Xenakis for Erikhthon for orchestra,^[5] Pauline Oliveros for Bonn Fire, Pierre Mariétan for Opus Wassermusik, Luftklang, Straßenmusik
• 1980 Wolfgang Rihm for Jacob Lenz,^[6] Aleksander Lasón for Symphonie concertante for piano and orchestra, Reinhard Febel for Charivari for ensemble^[7]
• 1983 Manuel Hildalgo for Hacia (string quartet), Manfred Stahnke for Penthesilea (3rd string quartet), Joachim Krebs for Quartettomanie (2nd string quartet)
• 1986 Jörg Birkenkötter for Sechs Stücke für Kammerensemble, Michael Jarell for Trei II for soprano and five instruments, Konstantinos Varotsis for "Schillern" ("Iridescences")
• 1989 Bernd Jestl for Der König stirbt (opera), Hermann Spree for Aufregungszustand am Nachmittag (chamber opera)
• 1992 Paul Roberts for Align II for Saxophon-Trio and Piano

References

1. "Die Weihe des Hauses. Die Einweihung der Beethovenhalle zu Bonn am 8. September 1959, Schriftenreihe der Stadt Bonn" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). Bonn: Presseamt der Stadt Bonn. 1960. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
2. Haslinger, Sarah (December 2013). "Heimo Erbse" (PDF). Arbeitsschwerpunkt Salzburger Musikgeschichte, Universität Mozarteum (in German). Salzburg. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
3. "Sehr gehässig". Der Spiegel (in German). Hamburg. 30 October 1967. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
4. "Klaus Huber Profile". Schott music. Mainz. 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
5. Schürmann, Hans G. (1977). "Beethovenpreis 1977 für Xenakis". Das Orchester (in German). 25: 546–547.
6. Hartmann, Bernhard (30 September 2008). "Ein Experiment zu viel beim Beethovenfest-Finale mit Bamberger Symphonikern". General-Anzeiger (in German). Bonn. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
7. Nonnenmann, Rainer (May 2012). "Inmitten der Allgegenwart von Musik. Der Komponist Reinhard Febel". MusikTexte (in German). 133: 22–37. Retrieved 6 October 2017.