One 1st and two 2nd prizes at the Schumann Chamber Music Prize Frankfurt - nine international piano trios met for a musical competition and delighted the audience

After two exciting days of competition on March 11 and 12 in the Great Hall of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK), the final took place yesterday evening in the Mozart Hall of the Alte Oper Frankfurt. The three trios selected by the jury for the final round once again gave their best - and all three ensembles captivated the audience that evening with their very individual style. In short, it was a very special kind of pleasure - and not just for the young musicians.

In the first part of the concert evening - as part of the renowned chamber music series of the Frankfurt Museum Society - the three ensembles that had qualified for the final of the International Schumann Chamber Music Prize Frankfurt 2025 on the previous two days presented themselves. After a break for deliberation, the prizes were announced in the second part of the evening, as was the audience prize:

The prize-winning ensembles
The Bernstein Trio with Roman Tulchynsky (violin), Marei Schibilsky (cello) and Julia Stephan (piano) received the 1st prize and 8,000 euros.
The two 2nd prizes and 5,000 euros each go to the Elster Trio with Wassili Wohlgemuth (violin), Davide Carlassara (cello), Jacopo Giovannini (piano) and the Paddingtin Trio with Tuulia Hero (violin), Patrick Moriarty (cello) and Stephanie Tang (piano).
The special prize for the most impressive interpretation of a work by Robert Schumann or his companions was awarded by the Robert Schumann Society Frankfurt to the Bernstein Trio. The audience prize went to the Paddington Trio.
All three ensembles won a total of 20,000 euros in prize money.

Impressively high competition level
The Frankfurt 2025 International Schumann Chamber Music Prize was held in the category of Piano Trio. Eleven young ensembles from all over the world originally wanted to travel to Frankfurt this week. They had sent in videos in advance, which were reviewed by the jury. They were selected and invited to Frankfurt. In the end, nine piano trios took part in the musical competition - a chamber music marathon for the jury. "However, the past three days were anything but a compulsory program due to the enormously high artistic and technical level overall. Rather, from the first ensemble performance to the final in the Mozart Saal, we really enjoyed the concert character, the concert program of each ensemble and the atmosphere in the competition and at the HfMDK," sums up Heime Müller, the jury chairman. "It is a very special competition, also because of the detailed feedback discussions with the jury that take place after the second round. A crowning finale of the competition is the performance of the final in the chamber music series of the Museum Concerts in the Alte Oper Frankfurt - and thus in one of the most important concert halls in Europe," adds Angelika Merkle, the artistic director of the competition.

Inspiration Schumann - meeting place for chamber music
The competition was launched back in 2008 as the Commerzbank Chamber Music Prize and focused on the piano trio and piano quartet genres from the outset. It has remained true to this focus under its new name - after all, Robert Schumann was a grand master of piano chamber music. The Main metropolis also had a special significance for Robert and Clara Schumann. And because many contemporary composers still find Robert Schumann an important source of inspiration today, a work by Robert Schumann or one of his epochal companions is always a compulsory piece in the competition.

The high-caliber jury of the International Schumann Chamber Music Prize Frankfurt consisted of:
Martin Funda, Professor of Chamber Music at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and leader of the Armida Quartet

Stefan Heinemeyer, lecturer in string chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien and cellist of the Atos Trio

Angelika Merkle, Professor of Piano Chamber Music at the HfMDK, Artistic Director of the International Schumann Chamber Music Prize Frankfurt and the Festeburg Concerts Frankfurt

Heime Müller, Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Lübeck University of Music and (former) 1st and 2nd violinist of the Artemis Quartet for many years

Bart van de Roer, professor of piano and chamber music at the Rotterdam Conservatory (Codarts) and pianist of the Storioni Trio

The Schumann Chamber Music Prize Frankfurt is organized by the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK) and significantly supported by the Dr. Marschner Foundation.
Partners are the Frankfurter Museums-Gesellschaft, the Robert Schumann-Gesellschaft Frankfurt, the HfMDK Foundation and the Festeburgkonzerte as well as hr2 kultur as cultural partner.

Bernstein Trio
Roman Tulchynsky, violin
Marei Schibilsky, violoncello
Julia Stephan, piano
The Bernstein Trio was founded in 2022 and consists of Roman Tulchynsky, Marei Schibilsky and Julia Stephan. The musicians met at the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Music High School in Berlin and are now studying at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music Berlin. As an ensemble, they receive lessons from Jonathan Aner at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music.
The Bernstein Trio has attended various masterclasses in Germany, France and Switzerland and has worked with artists such as Antoine Tamestit, Valentin Erben, Dirk Mommertz, the Artemis Quartet and the Vogler Quartet. It made its debut at the Rheingau Music Festival in summer 2023, where it received the HA Hessen Agentur GmbH sponsorship award. At the German Music Competition 2024, the trio was awarded a scholarship in the German Music Competition concert sponsorship program and received the special prize of the Friends of Young Musicians Meerbusch-Düsseldorf e. V. At the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition 2025 in Berlin, it won first place in the piano trio category, the Friends of Young Musicians Prize and the special prize for the interpretation of the commissioned work.
Since 2022, the Bernstein Trio has been a member of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Berlin association, which supports young, particularly qualified artists and brings music to people who are unable to attend concerts due to their circumstances. All members of the ensemble are scholarship holders of the German National Academic Foundation.

Elster Trio
Wassili Wohlgemuth, violin
Davide Carlassara, violoncello
Jacopo Giovannini, piano
The Elster Trio was founded in 2022 by Wassili Wohlgemuth, Davide Carlassara and Jacopo Giovannini and soon won the chamber music competition of the Leipzig University of Music and Performing Arts. It has given concerts at venues including the Gohliser Schlösschen in Leipzig and Stadthagen Castle.
Since October 2023, the Elster Trio has been studying in Prof. Angelika Merkle's class at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK). The ensemble is a Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland scholarship holder, won the HfMDK ensemble scholarship in 2024 and took first place in the Chamber Music Prize of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft e. V., also in Frankfurt. In January 2025, it took part in the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition in Berlin.
The Elster Trio received important impulses from Prof. Valentin Erben, Prof. Boris Kusnezow, Florian Schötz, Prof. Heime Müller, the Cuarteto Casals and Prof. Tabea Zimmermann. In the coming season, the ensemble will perform at the Rheingau Music Festival and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, among others

Paddington Trio
Tuulia Hero, violin
Patrick Moriarty, violoncello
Stephanie Tang, piano
The Paddington Trio is regarded as one of the most exciting chamber music ensembles of its generation and is praised at international competitions and concerts for its fresh interpretations, imaginative programming and highly cultivated ensemble playing. Like Paddington, the famous bear, the Finnish violinist Tuulia Hero, the Irish cellist Patrick Moriarty and the American pianist Stephanie Tang have found their home in London and now form a unique ensemble.
The trio's first adventure together began in 2020 at Paddington Station. in 2022 it was awarded first prize at the 70th Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition, and in 2024 it won the Triomphe de l'Art International Music Competition and the Storioni Concours, as well as the Parkhouse Award in 2023. Its current work is generously supported by the City Music Foundation, the Kirckman Concert Society and GBZ Management.
In March 2023, the trio performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto for the first time with the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra in Finland. They have also performed at renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall, St. George's Bristol and TivoliVredenburg, as well as at prestigious festivals such as Buxton International and the Brighton Festival.
The ensemble members completed their studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and have been studying with Günter Pichler at the International Institute for Chamber Music in Madrid since fall 2024.
Tuulia Hero plays a Stradivarius violin from 1707, generously loaned by the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.