The atmosphere was electric at the Gewandhaus Leipzig! The three young artists can now bear the title of "Bach Prize Winner".
21-year-old Jan Čmejla received the first prize, the audience award presented by the Friends of the Bach Archive and a custom-made stage outfit (Silke Wagler)! Second prize went to Marek Kozák and third prize to Mariamna Sherling.
The prizes were presented by 2025 jury President Vanessa Latarche and artistic director Michael Maul. Along the official awards other very special were given also: a CD production, master class participations, and of course concert engagements. The final was realized in cooperation with the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig.
Let's learn a little more about our great finalists:
Jan Čmejla studied at the Prague Conservatory with Eva Boguniová from 2018 to 2022 and has continued his studies at the Mannheim State University of Music and Performing Arts with Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy since 2022. He has taken part in masterclasses with Boris Giltburg, Lang Lang and Gautier Capuçon. Jan Čmejla won 1st Prize at the Concours International de Piano d'Epinal 2022, the Concertino Praga 2019 and the Santa Cecilia Competition 2021. He has performed in the USA, the Czech Republic and China, among others.
Marek Kozák studied at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Ivan Klánský. He won 1st Prize at the European Piano Competition Bremen 2018 and 2nd Prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition 2016; in 2021 he was a prizewinner at the Concours Géza Anda Zurich. Concerts have taken him to the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. In 2024, he released a CD of “forgotten” Czech piano concertos together with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Mariamna Sherling has studied at the Moscow Conservatory “P. I. Tchaikovsky” with Natalie Trull since 2019 and at the Royal College of Music with Vanessa Latarche since 2024. She has won numerous prizes at competitions, including 1st Prize at the Concours International de Piano de Lyon 2021 and 2nd and 3rd Prizes in Grosetto, Dresden, Hastings, Hanover and Porto. Concerts have already taken Mariamna Sherling to Russia, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and the USA.
The next competition will take place in 2026 with the disciplines Violin and Baroque Violin:
13.–21.2026
Violin/Baroque violin
Application: 1 August to 30 September (12.00 noon CEST) via Muvac
Information available from 15 April on https://www.bachwettbewerbleipzig.de
