Lübeck Secures Instrument Competition Through 2032

For a young string player, access to an instrument can matter as much as access to a stage. A renewed funding agreement in Lübeck will support both, keeping the German Musical Instrument Fund’s annual competition in the city through 2032.

The Possehl Foundation has extended its backing by five years. The competition, run by Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, first moved to Lübeck in 2025 with an initial three-year commitment. The city’s music university and theatre remain key partners, providing audition and concert facilities alongside opportunities for selected laureates.

The fund holds 280 instruments, including historic violins, violas and cellos as well as work by contemporary makers. The awards are loans, not transfers of ownership. An annually reconstituted volunteer jury of conservatoire professors decides which applicants receive instruments following the three-day competition.

Held on the final weekend of February, the event concludes with a public laureates’ concert at the Lübeck music university. Two prizewinners also receive the opportunity to appear as soloists with the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra in the following year, giving the selection process a direct connection with professional performance.

Interest is substantial: a preliminary panel is reviewing several hundred application videos to select 50 instrumentalists for the next live auditions. The instrument competition also acts as an entry point to further support, including concerts and study scholarships.

The renewed agreement gives organisers a longer planning horizon and applicants a stable destination for a demanding selection process. It also underlines the practical nature of musical patronage. A valuable instrument becomes useful through sustained access, maintenance, study and performance, rather than through its reputation alone.

By joining a loan programme to local educational and orchestral institutions, the Lübeck arrangement offers young players a sequence of opportunities extending beyond the competition weekend itself.