Since 1998, the Dr. Hermann Büttner Piano Competition has been held annually by the lawyer named after him. Since 2017, the renowned competition for the promotion of young musicians has been supported by the Adler Büttner Foundation. This year, the competition was announced for piano solo. Students of the Karlsruhe University of Music were eligible to participate. 16 candidates performed a programme of their own choice in the first round on 21 May, which had to include two etudes, one of them by Frédéric Chopin. Four of the candidates made it to the second round on 22 May. They had to play one work by Johannes Brahms and one work from the Viennese Classical period by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven. The total playing time was to be about 50 minutes.
The four candidates in the second round will receive "Four Unified Prizes" and prize money of 2,500 euros each. They are Soojung Daria Kim and Matteo Weber, who both study with Sontraud Speidel, as well as Ji Hun Hong and Toshiki Esau from Roberto Domingos' class. Two promotional prizes of 1000 euros each also go to Mingjie Guo and Yesol Suh from his class.
The jury, chaired by Dr Hermann Büttner, included three external piano professors who teach at the conservatories in Detmold, Vienna and Trossingen: Elena Margolina-Hait, Anna Malikova and Ingo Dannhorn.
The prize-winners' concert will feature works by Joseph Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Enrique Granados, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith and Nikolai Kapustin.
Am Schloss Gottesaue 7 · 76131 Karlsruhe
Admission free with ticket. Tickets at the entrance.