Competitions › Göttingen Händel Competition
Göttingen Händel Competition
Next edition
No future edition is announced on the official pages we could check.
Overview
Annual competition for baroque ensembles performing in historically informed practice, held during the Göttingen International Handel Festival. Ensembles of any nationality with up to seven members may apply.
- Organiser
- Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen GmbH
- Instruments
- Baroque ensemble (historically informed performance, up to 7 members, voices and instruments)
- Category
- Baroque & early music singing, Early music ensembles
- Age limits
- No member older than 35; ensemble average age not above 32
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
Single PDF by e-mail (three programmes with concept, room concept, motivation letter, ensemble biography, application form, proof of age, stage plan, photo) plus a 5–7 minute video on YouTube/Vimeo; entry fee EUR 150 per ensemble after acceptance.
Rounds & time limits
- Preselection: application with 5–7 minute video
- Round 1: 15 minutes (8 ensembles)
- Round 2: 30 minutes (3 ensembles)
- Prizewinners' concert: 75 minutes in two blocks
Repertoire
2026: each of three programmes (Round 1, Round 2, prizewinners' concert) at least 30% Handel by playing time and at least 30% original compositions; Round 2 must include at least one contemporary work or arrangement; programmes should relate to the festival motto ('Verlockung'); pitch a' = 415 Hz.
Jury & prizes
Jury
- Jochen Schäfsmeier (chair, Director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival)
- Theresa De Luca
- Christiane Irrgang
- Alexander Weimann
- Marie Luise Maintz
- Michael Schäfer
Prizes
- Göttingen Handel Society Prize: EUR 5,000 plus prizewinners' concert
- 'Music and Space' Special Prize: EUR 2,000, concert in St. Petri Landolfshausen and invitation to the Kölner Philharmonie
- Bärenreiter Urtext Prize
- Audience Prize (lunch concert)
- Special prize: guest performance with Early Music Vancouver
Past editions
- 2026 — Göttingen source
Göttingen Handel Society Prize (shared): Duo Lucescuro (Vienna); Göttingen Handel Society Prize (shared): Les Arcanes Baroques (The Hague); Music and Space prize: Les Arcanes Baroques; Audience Prize: Duo Lucescuro; Early Music Vancouver special prize: Barque Ensemble
Summarised from official sources, last checked 10 Nov 2026. Main source