Seven young instrumentalists have reached the finals of the 3rd Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition, held in Debrecen from 5-13 July. The prestigious jury, chaired by horn player Marie-Luise Neunecker, awarded the first prize to Sandro Hirsch.

The 3rd Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition continued with the final on 12 July. The seven finalists each performed a concerto as soloists of the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra at the Kölcsey Centre in Debrecen.

The international jury made the following decision after listening to the concertos:

1. Prize – Sandro Hirsch
2. Prize – Vanyó Karsa
3. Prize – Brendan Connellan
4. Prize – Tobias Krieger
5. Prize (shared) – Mustafa Khalilov, Hayato Kodama, Oded Saig

Sandro Hirsch was born in 1997. From the age of 14, he studied under Peter Leiner, Klaus Schuhwerk and Reinhold Friedrich. He won first prize in numerous national competitions in Germany. As a soloist, he performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, gave recitals at the Konzerthaus Berlin, and released his debut solo album in 2017. Since 2024, Hirsch has been the principal trumpet of the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. Prior to this, he held the same position at the Bamberg Symphony from 2022, and has also performed as a guest with ensembles such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he founded a brass band for underprivileged children in Kigali, Rwanda. In 2021, he and Tobias Krieger founded the conTRUMPETary project to promote contemporary music. He also gives masterclasses in Taiwan and South Korea.

Special prizes

Tobias Krieger

• Sheet music gift voucher offered by the Editio Musica Budapest Zeneműkiadó Kft.

Brendan Connellan

• Special prize of the Festival Academy Budapest – a concert invitation to next year’s festival
• Special prize of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra – concert opportunity
• Special prize of the Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen – concert opportunity

Vanyó Karsa

• Sheet music gift voucher offered by the Editio Musica Budapest Zeneműkiadó Kft.
• Special prize of the Festival Academy Budapest – invitation to the masterclass of Sergei Nakariakov
• Special prize of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra – concert opportunity
• Special prize of Papageno
• Special prize of the Liszt Academy – concert opportunity in the Solti Hall
• Special Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Arts’ Section of Music for the best Hungarian competitor. 

Sandro Hirsch

• The Editions Bim Prize for the best interpretation of Roland Szentpáli’s Cover
• Special prize of the Festival Academy Budapest – a concert invitation to next year’s festival.
• The special prize of the Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara, a concert opportunity with the orchestra.

In addition to Marie-Luise Neunecker (horn, Germany), the international jury of the competition – with prizes worth a total of €40,000 – consisted of teachers from the world’s most prestigious institutions: Gábor Boldoczki (trumpet, Hungary), Abbie Conant (trombone, USA), Frits Damrow (trumpet, Netherlands), Gusztáv Hőna (trombone, Hungary), Wim Van Hasselt (trumpet, Belgium) and Szabolcs Zempléni (horn, Hungary).

The Gala Concert with the Awards Ceremony—featuring the best four contestants—will be held on 13 July at 7 pm at the Kölcsey Centre in Debrecen. The award ceremony can be followed live online on the competition’s website and on Papageno’s YouTube channel.

To watch the contestants’ performances click here.

The competition is organised by Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen and Papageno, and its professional partner is Jeunesses Musicales Hungary, the Hungarian representative of the world’s largest youth music organisation.