Fanny Hensel’s Lieder are the focus of the international competition for Lied duos with fortepiano in Schloss Weißenbrunn organised for the first time  in 2026.

In two concerts, the finalists of the Fanny Hensel Competition for Lied duos will present Lieder by this composer and by her brother, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Three historical fortepianos will be available to the duos.

There will be a livestream of the concerts. In the time between the performances, interviews and film clips from concerts at Schloss Weißenbrunn will be shown.

Link Livestream

While the jury will select winners after the two concerts, the concert audiences will also be given the opportunity to choose their own winner for the audience award. Another special prize will be awarded by the internet audience.

Playlist Finalists

The Lieder by Fanny Hensel are among the outstanding compositions of their time. This concert presents them in  dialogue with works by artists close to her. Particularly charming: the use of the Romantic guitar, a typical accompanying instrument of the time mainly played by women.

Maria Ladurner is an internationally sought-after soprano, a distinguished specialist in Early Music and historically informed performance practice. Her CD recordings have been awarded numerous prizes, including the Opus Klassik (2021) and the Diapason d’or. She has performed at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berlin Philharmonic, at the Salzburg Mozart Week and the Göttingen Handel Festival. Her duo partner, Elias Conrad, has won numerous competitions, both nationally and internationally, and has performed with renowned conductors such as René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon and Raphaël Pichon.