INTERNATIONAL H.I.F. BIBER COMPETITION
St. Florian Monastery, Upper Austria

01-04 May 2025

This is a competition about contemporary performance of early music. Our purpose is to encourage the development of young musicians in original performance of period music through the study of the spiritof Austrian baroque music.

This is a competition of Encounter and Communication. Interested listeners are invited to audit the competiton free of charge, with the exception of the Winners’ concert.

PRIZES:
F.J. Aumann Prize: 1.500 EUR - given for new discoveries in baroque music.
R. Weichlein Prize:1.500 EUR - given for the advancement of Austrian baroque music.
H.I.F. Biber Prize: 1.500 EUR - for the following criteria:
A maximum of 10 points will be awarded according to the following criteria: artistic expression, innovative interpretation, tone, programme choice, Austrian componant, recently discovered literature, presentation, technical and musical skill.

All 3 prizes could be won by one contestant.

 

SPECIAL PRIZES:

Fiori Musicali: A participant get the opportunety to play a concert in the concert series Fiori Musicali and/or Eckartsauer Schlosskonzerte in the following year.
Brucknerhaus Linz: A participant/an ensemble get the opportunety to play a concert in the concert series Stars von morgen at the Brucknerhaus Linz in the season 2026/27.
Wiener Konzerthaus: There are regular invitations to the Festival Resonanzen in the Vienna Konzerthaus (Jury: Peter Reichelt).
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna: A participant/an ensemble receives an exclusive introduction to the collection of early music instruments and the opportunity to play a mattinée.


SPECIAL OFFERS:

— On May 4th at 10:30 a.m. there will be an "Open discussion" for anyone interested about the future of early music. Members of the jury will be present.
— On May 4th at 3 p.m. every violinist will have the opportunity to test the sound of his instrument by playing colla parte with the choirboys from St. Florian. Does the sound of the violin mix with the voices of the boys?
It became possible to use violins in the church music only when they took on a sound that made it possible to play colla parte with boys.
The ideal sound is described as "soave" and "masculine" - in contrast to the simple instruments of the minstrels and "fist violinists", whose sound was considered shrill and rough. We expect surprises.



The competition takes place at the Altomontesaal (heated), St.Florian Monastery (near Linz), Austria

 

The hotel list
TAXI St. Florian:
  • Taxi Brenner: +43 676 9474901
  • Taxi Claudia: +43 7223 80999
    • from or to TRAM 2 Station "Bahnhof Ebelsberg" (Sunday-Friday till 24 p.m Uhr, Saturday 0 a.m. till 24 p.m.)
    Journey planner:  LINZ AG Linien English

Please click here for further informations!