25 Years of the ZF Music Award – New Insights into the World of Music

For 25 years, the ZF Art Foundation has honored outstanding young piano virtuosos with the ZF Music Award. Every two years, up to six pianists are invited to compete for this prestigious prize. In three public competition concerts, the young artists demonstrate their skills. An international, independent jury evaluates the participants based on their performances across all three concerts.

Past winners of the ZF Music Award include renowned pianists such as Herbert Schuch, Alexej Gorlatch, Shaun Choo, Claire Huangci, and Aaron Pilsan. Many of them emphasize how formative the competition was for their careers. Herbert Schuch, winner in 2004, recalls: “The ZF Music Award was a kind of starting point. It was the first of four competitions I went on to win.” Shaun Choo, winner in 2010, also reflects fondly: “The ZF Art Foundation played a significant role in my career. Winning the ZF Music Award marked my first success, followed by a series of others in the same year.”

The ZF Music Award is closely linked to the Piano Festival of Young Masters. From the beginning, selected piano virtuosos have gained valuable stage experience through recitals at various venues around Lake Constance. However, Peter Vogel, founder and artistic director of the festival, wanted more: exceptional talents should also have the opportunity to perform with an orchestra, something new for young piano virtuosos. The idea of promoting extraordinary young talents while creating unique musical experiences in the Lake Constance region, offering audiences diverse new perspectives on music, was immediately convincing. Since 1999, the ZF Art Foundation has been the main sponsor of the Piano Festival of Young Masters. “We share common goals. We aim to establish new, unusual music formats in the region and reach young people—the audience of the future,” recalls Regina Michel, the long-time Executive Manager of the ZF Art Foundation. To this day, a public masterclass remains at the heart of the festival, where renowned piano pedagogues teach. It allows the audience to experience concert preparation up close and offers insight into artistic processes usually hidden behind closed doors.

The idea quickly emerged to further support the world-class young musicians who gather at Lake Constance every two years and to honor them with a music award. Dietmar Pfister, then the Chairman of the ZF Art Foundation, fondly recalls the early days: “At the piano festival in Lindau, we experienced the masterclass and heard the first orchestral concerts. Under the guidance of their outstanding teacher, the young musicians performed with the enthusiasm of inspired, highly gifted talents. It was a wonderful experience. Together with Peter Vogel, we decided to establish the ZF Music Award to support these talents even more and recognize their achievements. The very first final concert and award ceremony in 2001 was already a great success.”

The ZF Music Award and the Piano Festival of Young Masters represent musical support at the highest level and enrich the region’s cultural offering. “We look back on more than 25 years of successful collaboration and are delighted to support exceptional young talents,” says Matthias Lenz, Chairman of the ZF Art Foundation. At the same time, he emphasizes the foundation’s sustainability: “The ZF Art Foundation is a non-profit foundation under civil law. Its funding comes exclusively from the returns on its endowment, ensuring sustainable support for art and culture—even in challenging times. We owe this to the foresight of our founders.” For 25 years, the ZF Music Award has stood for promoting outstanding young piano virtuosos, musical excellence, and intense musical experiences that continually provide new insights into the world of music.

From June 4 to 7, 2026, six internationally awarded musicians from five nations will compete for the ZF Music Award 2026: Luis Benedict Alfsmann (Germany), Jacopo Giovannini (Italy), Jooyeon Ka (South Korea), Emin Kiourktchian (Spain), Sohta Miura (Japan), and Vivien Walser (Germany). On June 7, 2026, the ZF Art Foundation will award the ZF Music Prize for the twelfth time.

Each of the three public competition concerts is devoted to a prescribed repertoire, placing high artistic demands on the performers: On the first competition concert, Thursday, June 4, at 6:30 pm, the six young masters will present works by Johann Sebastian Bach and sonatas of the Viennese Classical period at the Münzhof in Langenargen. The second competition concert will take place on Friday, June 5, at 6:30 pm, also at the Münzhof in Langenargen. On this evening, the four remaining participants will interpret works of German Romanticism as well as a composition from contemporary classical music. The decisive final concert with the three finalists will be held on Sunday, June 7, at 7:00 pm in the Ludwig‑Dürr Hall of the Graf‑Zeppelin‑Haus in Friedrichshafen. The competition repertoire consists of concert études, including works by Frédéric Chopin, as well as a representative work of the 19th or 20th century, freely chosen. Following the final concert, the jury will determine the finalists’ rankings based on their performances across all three competition rounds and announce the prize winners.

Admission to all three concerts is free. Ticket reservation is required and will be available from May 8, 2026, via the Reservix webshop of the ZF Art Foundation: ZF Musikpreis Ticketshop – Alle Events

Press contact
ZF ART FOUNDATION
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88046 Friedrichshafen, Germany
T +49 7541 77-7114
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