
Since its founding in 2009, the Heidelberger Frühling Wettbewerb "Das Lied" has discovered a multitude of talents and given the starting signal for promising careers through its support in the form of prize money, concert appearances, media presence and networking in the international song scene. Quite a few of the former participants are now among the established singers of their generation and can be seen regularly on the world's great stages. These include soprano Nikola Hillebrand, baritones Jóhann Kristinsson, Manuel Walser, Martin Häßler, Benjamin Appl, Samuel Hasselhorn and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz. Many of the former participants continue to be closely associated with Heidelberger Frühling and its Liedzentrum and perform at festivals and LABs, develop joint song projects, or pass on their knowledge in master classes.
The finale took place on February 10, 2019 at Theater Heidelberg. The 1st prize of 15,000 euros, donated by the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation, went to soprano Nikola Hillebrand from Germany. The 2nd prize of 10,000 euros was shared by mezzo-soprano Yajie Zhang from China and baritone Konstantin Krimmel from Germany. Konstantin Krimmel also received the audience prize of 2,000 euros. The 3rd prize of 5,000 euros went to baritone Michael Rakotoarivony from Madagascar. The sponsorship prize of 2,500 euros, donated by the Freundeskreis Heidelberger Frühling e.V., was awarded to the bass-baritone Jeeyoung Lim from South Korea. In absentia, Matthew Fletcher from Great Britain was awarded the title of best pianist of the competition and 5,000 euros in prize money.
The competition jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Juliane Banse, John Gilhooly, Charlotte Lehmann, Helga Machreich, Malcolm Martineau, Thorsten Schmidt and Richard Stokes.
The vocal repertoire included songs by Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Charles Ives and Wilhelm Killmayer.
All rounds of the 2019 competition were broadcast live on Youtube. To the playlist
The finale took place on Saturday, March 4, 2017 in the Stadthalle Heidelberg. The 1st prize, endowed with 15,000 euros, donated by the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation, went to the baritone Samuel Hasselhorn from Germany. The 2nd prize and 7,500 euros went to the US mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski. Two awards were given to baritone Jóhann Kristinsson from Iceland: the 3rd prize (5,000 euros) and the audience prize, which was originally unendowed, but got spontaneously endowed with 5,000 euros by an anonymous sponsor. The baritones André Baleiro from Portugal and Modestas Sedlevicius from Lithuania received promotional prizes (2,500 euros), and the best pianists were Spain's Victoria Guerrero and Ukraine's Anna Anstett (2,500 euros).
The jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Brigitte Fassbaender, Bernada Fink, John Gilhooly, Charlotte Lehmann, Felicity Lott, Helga Machreich, Dominique Meyer and Richard Stokes.
The vocal repertoire included songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Wolfgang Rihm.
All rounds of the 2017 competition were broadcast live on Youtube. To the playlist
The Israeli mezzo-soprano Hagar Sharvit prevailed in the final, which took place on Sunday February 22, 2015 at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. She received a scholarship worth a total of 30,000 euros and was also awarded the audience prize. The second prize of 15,000 euros went to the Australian soprano Emma Moore. The third prize of 7,500 euros went to Angharad Lyddon (alto) from Wales. The pianist prize of 10,000 euros was shared by Ammiel Bushakevitz and James Sherlock. The promotional prize of 5,000 euros went to the soprano Suzanne Fischer (born 1987).
The jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Brigitte Fassbaender, John Gilhooly, Helga Machreich-Unterzaucher, Dominique Meyer, Charles Spencer and Richard Stokes.
The vocal repertoire included songs by Franz Schubert, Benjamin Britten and Robert Franz.
In the final, which took place on Sunday February 24, 2013 at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, Manuel Walser, a baritone from Switzerland who is only 23 years old, came out on top. He received a scholarship worth a total of 30,000 euros. The second prize of 15,000 euros went to Annelie Sophie Müller, a mezzo-soprano from Berlin. The third prize of 7,500 euros was shared by mezzo-soprano Nathalie Mittelbach from Switzerland and soprano Sunyoung Seo from South Korea. The pianist prize of 10,000 euros was won by Jonathan Ware from the USA. The Promotional Prize of 5,000 euros went to soprano Annika Gerhards (born 1988). The audience also judged the singers and awarded the Audience Prize to Manuel Walser.
The jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Brigitte Fassbaender, John Gilhooly, Helga Machreich-Unterzaucher, Dominique Meyer, Charles Spencer and Richard Stokes.
For the 2013 competition, a total of 30 songs had to be prepared - by the following composers: Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Maurice Ravel, Richard Strauss. At least three songs had to be prepared by each of these four composers.
The first prize of 30,000 euros went to the mezzo-soprano Amira Elmadfa from Germany. The second prize of 15,000 euros went to baritone Martin Häßler from Germany. The third prize was shared. 3.750,- Euro each went to the English mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley and to the baritone David Pichlmaier from Germany. The pianist prize of 10,000 euros went to James Baillieu from South Africa. The Promotional Prize of 5,000 euros went to the Finnish Lied Duo consisting of baritone Aarne Pelkonen, born in 1986, and pianist Juho Alakärppä, born in 1983. The Audience Prize went to Benjamin Appl.
The jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Annette Dasch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Robert Gambill, John Gilhooly, Charles Spencer and Eva Wagner-Pasquier.
For the 2011 competition in Berlin, the following repertoire had to be prepared: Johannes Brahms (15 songs), Hugo Wolf (15 songs).
The first prize was not awarded. The second prize of 15,000 euros went to baritone Tobias Berndt from Germany. The third prize was divided. EUR 5,000 each went to the tenor Seil Kim from South Korea and the baritone Daniel Schmutzhard from Austria. The pianist prize was also shared. EUR 5,000 each went to Alexander Fleischer from Germany and Gary Matthewman from England. The sponsorship prize was also shared. EUR 2,500 each went to pianist James Baillieu, born 1982 in South Africa, and bass Jan Martinik, born 1983 in the Czech Republic.
The jury included Thomas Quasthoff (chair), Pieter G. Alferink, Annette Dasch, Helmut Deutsch, Martin Engstroem, Brigitte Fassbaender and Charles Spencer.
The following repertoire had to be prepared for the 2009 competition in Berlin: Franz Schubert (15 songs), Robert Schumann (15 songs).