The German Business Composition Prize
Together with the Ensemble Modern, we are sending a strong signal for the sustainable promotion of young composers with this newly created composition prize. The prize supports outstanding composers under the age of 35 who are active in German-speaking countries.
Ensemble Modern is one of the world's leading ensembles for contemporary music and is known for its artistic excellence, stylistic openness, and consistent promotion of young musical talent—a commitment that is unique in this form.
The newly developed composition prize offers targeted development opportunities for young composers: a six-month practice-oriented mentoring program offered by Ensemble Modern “young_professionals”, intensive artistic exchange with leading international musicians, and the world premiere of a new work and a further performance at the annual conference.
Hed Bahack receives the 2026 Composition Prize
The first winner of the Composition Prize is Hed Bahack. The Israeli-born composer studied music composition at Tel Aviv University, the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, and the Barenboim-Said Academy Berlin.
His works have been performed internationally by renowned ensembles such as Ensemble Recherche, Quatuor Diotima, Klangforum Wien, the Mivos Quartet, and Ensemble Multilatérale. Performances have also taken place at festivals such as Impuls (Graz), ARCo (Marseille), Mizmorim (Basel), “Remus Georgescu” (Timișoara), and ZfGM (Leipzig).
In his works, he combines the physical experience of sound with psychological questions. He has already received several international awards for his compositions, including the Israeli Composition Promotion Prize 2024.
Concert Dates of the Commissioned Work
15 February 2026
World premiere of the work as part of the festival “cresc… Biennale for Contemporary Music Frankfurt Rhine-Main” in Frankfurt
24 April 2026
Concert with the ECHO Ensemble of the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin
9 October 2026
Prizewinners’ concert as part of the Kulturkreis Annual Conference at the Berlin Philharmonie
“There are moments when what you need most is a push and the opportunity to develop. With its mentoring programs for young composers, Ensemble Modern aims precisely at such moments. Extensive experience meets selected young talent: it's hard to imagine a more meaningful framework for experimenting and trying things out.”
Arnulf Hermann, composer
