The Mendelssohn Scholarship, awarded by the Prussian State from 1879 to 1936, was revived in 1963 by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The Foundation awards the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Prize once a year per competition opened to particularly talented students at one of the 23 recognised music academies in Germany.
The award is decided in a competition with two annually changing competition subjects, in which each university may nominate only one candidate or ensemble for each subject. Ensembles consisting of students from different universities may also be nominated (the universities participating in the mixed ensembles agree on which university will nominate this ensemble).
The Rektorenkonferenz der deutschen Musikhochschulen appoints the members of the juries. For each competition subject, they are composed of a rector as chairman, four specialist jurors and two jurors from other disciplines.
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (German: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest university school of music in Germany.
Daniel Müller-Schott is a German cellist.
Fumiko Shiraga was a Japanese-German pianist, a revelation in her country in the late 1990s, well known in classical music both through CD recordings and public performances, in particular of piano concertos in disguise, transcriptions of known masterpieces for chamber ensemble.
The Signum Quartet is a string quartet based in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1994, it has been playing in the current formation since 2016.
Gotthold Schwarz is a German Bass-baritone and conductor. Based in Leipzig, he started as a member of the Thomanerchor and has conducted the Gewandhausorchester. Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th Thomaskantor after Johann Sebastian Bach.
Sergio Azzolini is an Italian bassoonist and music conductor.
Hatto Beyerle was a German-Austrian violist who played mainly as a chamber musician, conductor and academic teacher. He was a founding member of the Alban Berg Quartet, and remained with the string quartet until 1981. He was professor of viola and chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna from 1964 to 1987, and also taught at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, the City of Basel Music Academy and Fiesole School of Music, besides international master classes, influencing notable chamber music ensembles. He initiated and directed the European Chamber Music Academy in 2004.
The Abegg Trio was a German piano trio. Since its foundation in 1976, it played in the original line-up.
Peter Ludwig Gülke is a German conductor and musicologist.
Peter Bruns is a German cellist and university professor.
Burkhard Glaetzner is a German oboe virtuoso und conductor. He is one of the leading oboe players in Germany.
Gerhard Erber was a German classical pianist and academic teacher. He played as a member of the East German ensemble Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler, which focused on contemporary chamber music. He was a professor of piano at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, and organised a Bach competition in Köthen.
Wulf Konold was a German musicologist, dramaturge and theatre director.
Claudius Böhm is a German librarian and author.
The Fauré Quartet is a German piano quartet, named after Gabriel Fauré. Founded in 1995, they have performed internationally and recorded, including works written for them by composers such as Volker David Kirchner and Toshio Hosokawa.
Siegfried Pank is a German cellist and viol player. He was a member of the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig from 1962 to 1980, and toured with the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. He turned to playing the viol in historically informed performance, and lectured cello and viol at the Musikhochschule Leipzig from 1984, as professor from 1988 to 2001. He was a co-founder of the International Telemann Association in 1991, serving as its president from 2012.
Stephan König is a German composer, pianist and conductor. He is the musical director of the "LeipJAZZig-Orkester" and the chamber orchestra "artentfaltung" and is considered one of the most authoritative Jazz musicians in Leipzig.
Pauline Sachse is a German violist, chamber musician, and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theather Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
Cornelia Osterwald is a German harpsichordist and docent for early music.
Andreas Frölich is a German pianist and teacher at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.