Weimar announces its 2025 Winners

Competitions

8 April 2025

Motus Quartet wins the Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition

Chamber music is the queen of the fine arts. The intimate interplay within a small ensemble sharpens the ear, fosters empathy, trains synchronicity, and offers participants truly sublime emotional moments. As social beings, humans reach their full artistic expression here, learning the finest nuances that can later be transferred—in the most positive way—to ensemble playing in an orchestra, for example.

For around 25 years, the International JOSEPH JOACHIM Chamber Music Competition has been held every three years, attracting the most talented young ensembles to the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar. The challenge is to present a stylistically diverse and extensive repertoire spanning several centuries before the discerning ears of a high-caliber jury. The requirements include works from the early and late Classical periods as well as the Romantic era. Additionally, a focus is placed on modern works composed after 1900 and after 1970.

Those who succeed in all three competition rounds stand to win prizes and special awards totaling more than €20,000. A victory in Weimar in the competition categories—string trio, string quartet, piano trio, or piano quartet—enhances prestige and can serve as a catalyst for a global stage career, as some award-winning ensembles have already demonstrated.

The choice of violinist, conductor, and composer Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) as the competition’s namesake is fitting, as he belonged to Franz Liszt’s inner circle during his time as concertmaster of the Weimar Court Orchestra. As one of the most significant chamber musicians of the late 19th century, Joachim performed in the Liszt-Joachim-Coßmann Piano Trio, which gained legendary status during its brief existence.

The requirements included works from the early and late classical period as well as the romantic period. Additionally, attention was paid to modern works composed after 1900 as well as after 1970.

Motus Quartet, Tim Pieter De Vries (violin), Karla Križ (violin), Erin Carter Pitts (viola) and Domonkos Peter Hartmann (cello), earned not only 1st Prize but also the Special Prize for the best interpretation of an early classic work.

Second prize went to the Malion Quartet, which is comprised of violinists Alex Jussow and Miki Nagahara, violist Lilya Tymchyshyn and cellist Bettina Kessler; third prize was awarded to the Davidoff Trio (Johannes Wendel violin, Christoph Lamprecht, cello and Yona Sophia Jutzi, piano) from Mainz. Two other special prizes, were awarded to the Paddington Trio (for best interpretation of a work composed after 1970) and Trio Sheliak (special prize for a particularly talented ensemble).

The jury was headed by violinist Anne-Kathrin Lindig and comprised violinists Annette von Hehn and Johannes Meissl, violists Hartmut Rohde and Naoko Shimizu, cellist Martin Rummel, and pianists Per Lundberg and Angelika Merkle.

Founded in Vienna in 2022, the Motus Quartet is currently studying with Johannes Meissl at the University of Music and Performing Arts (mdw) in Vienna. The members are Tim Pieter De Vries (violin), Karla Križ (violin), Erin Carter Pitts (viola), and Domonkos Peter Hartmann (cello). At the mdw International Summer Academy 2023, it was awarded the Artis Quartet Prize and the Wiener Klassik Prize.

In April 2023, the Motus Quartet made its debut at the Wiener Konzerthaus. In March 2024, it made its debut at the Wiener Musikverein and in October 2024 at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Further concerts have taken the ensemble to Taiwan, Tunisia, the USA, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland. For the 2024/25 season, performances are planned in Great Britain, France and India, among other places.

Founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2018, the Malion Quartet has already won prizes and awards at the German Music Competition, the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the International String Quartet Competition of the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation. The members are Alex Jussow (violin), Miki Nagahara (violin), Lilya Tymchyshyn (viola) and Bettina Kessler (cello).

The ensemble has performed at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Kölner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall London, Izumi Hall Osaka and the Cité de la musique in Paris, among others. This was followed by invitations to the Rheingau Music Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Heidelberger Frühling, the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker and Podium Esslingen.

In 2021, the year it was founded in Mainz, the Davidoff Trio was named the winner of the Orpheus Swiss Chamber Music Competition. The members are Johannes Wendel (violin), Christoph Lamprecht (cello) and Yona Sophia Jutzi (piano). Since then, the trio has pursued an active concert career throughout Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and has performed at festivals such as the Brixen Classics Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Festival Musikdorf Ernen and the Swiss Chamber Music Festival Adelboden.

In 2024, the trio won 3rd prize at the International Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award in Lugano (Switzerland). The musicians are currently studying for their Master's in Chamber Music at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with Prof. Thomas Hoppe.