International Call for Entries
for a
Composition Competition
for the composition of a
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Alban Berg composed his Violin Concerto in 1935, some ninety years ago. To honour this imminent anniversary, the Alban Berg Stiftung, in fulfilment of its purpose as a foundation, hereby calls for entries for a Composition Competition to be held with the following conditions:
The work:
As a concerto for violin and orchestra, the outward form of the work, which must be a new composition, should be related to that of Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, in particular that the size of the orchestra is to be similar and under no circumstances larger. The work should have a maximum duration of 25 minutes. It is desired but not required that the composer places the work in an emotional, personal relationship to her-/himself. At the time of its submission, the work must not have been previously published or publicly performed. From the time of its submission to the announcement of the jury’s decision, any publication, performance, utilisation, or submission of the work to other competitions requires the consent of the Alban Berg Stiftung.
Eligibility:
Composers born after 31 December 1995 are eligible to participate in the competition.
Submission conditions and deadline:
The score of the work with the composer’s full name, place of residence, mailing and email address, telephone number, a curriculum vitae (CV), a copy of a valid photo ID, and the declaration by means of the official form of the complete acceptance of the conditions of the competition are to be sent to the Stiftung in such a timely manner that all required documents, enclosed in a sealed envelope marked with “Violinkonzert 2025”, reach the offices of the Stiftung at Trauttmansdorffgasse 27, A-1130 Vienna, by no later than 15 December 2024. In addition, all documents are to be simultaneously submitted in a digital form on a suitable data medium or sent electronically with the same subject line to office@albanbergstiftung.at. The digital version of the score will be forwarded to the jury and thus must not contain any personal information in order to ensure that no conclusions can be drawn about the identity of the composer through metadata or other concealed data.
Prize:
The composer of the winning work will receive prize money to the amount of €20,000. Half of this sum will be paid out immediately following the announcement of the prize winner and the other half when the performance material is delivered. The premiere performance of the winning work is expected to be given in autumn 2025, in any event in the 2024/2025 season, at a concert by the Webern Symphony Orchestra of the mdw – University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna in the Great Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein. Of all compensation the composer receives for the winning work from third parties after a period of three years following the work’s first performance, he or she is to cede a share of 15 per cent to the Stiftung. The composer of the winning work is to have the complete performance material produced at her or his own expense and submit it or transfer it in a digital form to the Stiftung at least five months before the scheduled first performance. As part of a cooperation with the Alban Berg Stiftung, the Universal Edition AG, Vienna, will award the winner a free one-year subscription for the scodo publishing tool, valued at €300, with which the winning work can be published (see Guidelines).
Jury:
The submitted works will be turned over to an international jury, appointed by the Stiftung and consisting of at least three members, which will evaluate the works according to criteria including their suitability for acceptance into the standard concert repertoire. The jury will make its decision with regard to the awarding of the prize with complete independence and reserves the right to decline to award the prize or to split it. A right to the first performance exists only if a single prize is awarded. The jury is not obligated to explain its decision to the participating composers.
Additional conditions:
Any taxes applicable to the prize money are the responsibility of the composer her-/himself. Submitted works will be released or returned only at the request of the composer. The Stiftung assumes no responsibility for retaining works and documents whose return has not been requested within six months of the announcement of the results of the competition.
The jury’s decision is final.
Vienna, February 2024
Alban Berg Stiftung