Cello Competition for New Music

20 to 24 October 2026
The Domnick Cello Award

Patron
Helmut Lachenmann

The Domnick Cello Award stems from a deep passion for modernism.

Greta and Ottomar Domnick dedicated their lives to art and modernism. The Cello Award, which promotes talented young cellists, is part of their legacy. Indeed, the Domnick Cello Award winners have become renowned cellists who now keep the name ‘Domnick’ alive on international stages.

Ottomar Domnick (1907-1989) was born into a very musical but conservative family. His father was a lawyer and an excellent violinist. The children received a thorough musical education and played in a quartet with their strict father. Ottomar had to take on the cello part, which was ‘more of a burden than a pleasure’ for him, as he reported in his memoirs at the age of 70.

As a young medical student, he turned to the fine arts, especially the avant-garde. However, this was soon defamed as ‘degenerate’ by the National Socialists, confiscated and destroyed. When Greta and Ottomar Domnick set up their first apartment and practice in Stuttgart in 1938, there was no way for them to buy modern paintings. However, Ottomar Domnick always kept his cello close by, even during the war, when he worked as a doctor in the Breslau military hospital treating soldiers with neurological injuries. The cello was lost in the turmoil at the end of the war. Much later, in 1974, at the age of 67, he bought another cello – a precious Testore from 1707 – and practised every day from then on. Today, the precious cello is played by scholarship holders.

The Domnick couple always looked to the future. From 1945 onwards, they passionately collected abstract paintings and built up an important German-French collection. They made experimental films, which were honoured with the German Film Award in 1988. In 1967, they commissioned star architect Paul Stohrer to build an uncompromisingly modern villa to create a vibrant venue for the arts. They presented their collection there. They showed their films. They invited guests to concerts of new music.

The Domnick couple bequeathed their significant collection and villa to the state of Baden-Württemberg. The Domnick Foundation was established in 1996. The foundation's statutes stipulate the awarding of the Domnick Cello Award. The foundation's board of trustees, the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, continues this tradition in collaboration with the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg.

Announcement

Ankerlink: announcement

The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is announcing the Domnick Cello Competition for New Music with the Domnick Cello Award from 20 to 24 October 2026. The competition, in cooperation with the Domnick Foundation, will take place at the HMDK Stuttgart. All cellists up to and including the age of 32 are eligible to enter the competition.

Prizes

Ankerlink: prizes

Main prize: Domnick Cello Award € 10,000

Two sponsorship prizes € 1,000 each from the Society of Friends of the HMDK

The main prize will be donated by the Domnick Foundation, Nürtingen. All prizes will be paid out in euros. The prize winners are obliged to participate in the prize winners' concert on 24 October 2026 and in the Domnick Foundation prize winners' concert in Nürtingen (the exact date will be agreed with the prize winner).

Application

Ankerlink: application

Applications must be submitted by 30 June 2026 at the latest to the following address: simone.haas@hmdk-stuttgart.de

The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

Photo (jpg, min. 300 dpi. min. 500 KB. max. 2 MB)
Curriculum vitae in table format (doc, pdt, odt, max. 700 characters)
Proof of payment of the registration fee (scan pdf, jpg)
The registration fee of € 50.00 must be transferred to the following account
Landesoberkasse Baden-Württemberg
IBAN: DE02 6005 01010 7495 5301 02
BIC: SOLADEST600 I BW-Bank
Verwendungszweck/Reference 1: 1787200004161
Verwendungszweck/Reference 2: First name and surname
Photocopy of a piece for solo cello of your choice, complete and legible (scan pdf/jpg)

Receipt of your application will be confirmed immediately by email. You will be notified separately by email by 15 July 2026 whether you have been accepted into the competition.

Competition procedure

Ankerlink: competition-procedure

Before the competition begins, the order of the participants will be determined by drawing lots. The order determined in this way will remain unchanged throughout all rounds of the competition. The order for the first round of the competition will be communicated to the participants before the competition begins. The competition consists of a public competition round and a final round.

First round of the competition
20 and 21 October

A solo recital lasting 25 to 30 minutes:
Compulsory piece: EFEU by Thomas Demenga.
The choice of other works is free.

Works from all eras may be played, but the recital should focus on New Music. The concept and selection of works for the programme will be taken into account in the evaluation.

22 October
Rehearsals for the final round, course with jury members, jury concert

Final
23 October
A maximum of 3 participants will qualify for the final round.

Recital of 40 to 50 minutes (with or without accompaniment).

Works from all eras may be played, but New Music should also be the focus of the program here.

Further regulations

Competition participants are responsible for arriving on time for the scheduled rehearsals and audition dates. As long as an applicant is participating in the competition, he or she must ensure that he or she can be reached by the competition office in case of short-term changes. The HMDK Stuttgart has the unrestricted right to record and publish the competition entries in sound and image.