The competition regulations for the 20th International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition (PDF).

Conditions of the Competition 2023

Registration deadline for Categories I-III: August 15, 2023
Registration deadline for Online-Category IV: June 15, 2023 (extended deadline!) + video by June 15, 2023

Jury

Cordula Hacke, Chair / Germany
Anna Dina Bjørn-Larsen / Germany
Mario Caroli / Italy
Sung-hyun Cho / South Korea
Olga Ivusheikova / Kazakhstan
Susan Milan / England
Michel Moragues / France

International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition and the Hanseatic City of Uelzen

The International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition has been held in honor of the composer in his hometown Uelzen for 50 years. The competition has gained international recognition through its unique stress on the flute ensemble categories. Since its inception, the Kuhlau competition has been primarily a chamber music competition that promotes both Kuhlau‘s music and the creativity of the ensembles.
The German-Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau was born in Uelzen on September 11, 1786 and died on March 12, 1832 in Copenhagen. In addition to his important flute compositions, Kuhlau wrote successful Singspiele and operas, piano music and chamber music works. Especially his music for the play ‘Elverhøj’ made him unforgettable.
The Kuhlau competition was announced in Uelzen for the first time in 1970 as part of the celebrations for the city‘s historical event „700 years of city rights“ and now takes place every two years in autumn in the Theater an der Ilmenau. In 2020 the Hanseatic city of Uelzen celebrated its 750th anniversary and the Kuhlau competition its 50th anniversary.
Friedrich Kuhlau is remembered in many ways in his hometown. The Kuhlaustraße can be found in the city center as well as Kuhlau sculptures by artists Georg Münchbach and Georg Lipinsky.
An important basis for the competition is the Uelzener Kuhlau-Edition published by Syrinx Publishers and supported by the Hanseatic City of Uelzen. The complete edition of Flute Works by Friedrich Kuhlau comprises 62 volumes.

Categories
The competition will take place in four Categories:
Category I Ensemble Flute and Piano
Category II Ensemble Two Flutes
Category III Ensemble Three or Four Flutes
Online-Category IV (exclusivly online) Ensemble 2 to 5 instruments
The competition for Categories I-III takes place in Uelzen/Germany. Category IV takes place exclusively as an online competition.

The following competition regulations apply to Categories I-III, Regulations for Category IV see below (PDF p. 5)

Repertoire
Every named piece of the repertoire list has to be prepared completely. The jury reserves the right to choose parts of it. All works free of choice have to be communicated to the competition office by September 25, 2023. The selected pieces for the 3rd round have to be made available to the jury with 7 copies (upon reaching the 3rd round). Playing from photocopies is not permitted.
Repertoire list

Requirements
All competitors who have registered according to the rules, are admitted to the first round of the competition. The average age of an ensemble cannot exceed 32 years at the time of the competition. The maximum age of a member of an ensemble cannot exceed 35 years. The minimum age for participation is 16 years. A copy of the passport or identity card must be sent in with the application.

Application
Registration happens in three stages:
1) Registration online www.kuhlau.de by August 15, 2023 and transfer of the competition fee.
2) Informal confirmation of registration and information about all works free of choice by e-mail four weeks before the start of the competition (September 25, 2023).
3) Personal registration in the competition office on October 22, 2023 between 2 and 6 PM in the Theater an der Ilmenau/Uelzen. At least one member of an ensemble must report in person. The order of the competitors‘ performances in the competition will be decided by drawing lots. The draw takes place when participants register in the competition office. Only then is the ensemble considered registered.

Application Deadline / Registration Fee
The final date for the initial application is August 15, 2023. On applying, candidates are required to transfer a registration fee of €265 per ensemble to the following account (€200 of the registration fee received will be refunded to the contestants who actually take part in the competition):

Bank: Sparkasse Uelzen Lüchow-Dannenberg
Payee: Kulturkreis Uelzen e.V.
IBAN: DE12 2585 0110 0000 026526
BIC: NOLADE21UEL
Reference: Kuhlau2023 (+names of participants)

Travelling expenses / Accommodation
Travelling expenses must be paid by the competitors. Competitors are responsible for finding accommodation during the competition.
Limited private accommodation (in families) can be provided free of charge. Competitors who prefer a private accommodation must let the competition office know ASAP and make a binding reservation (the order of applications will be acknowledged).

Time Schedule
The following schedule for the competition is planned (the organizers reserve the right to make any necessary changes to the schedule):
Arrival, registration and drawing of lots: Sun. 22.10. 2–6 PM
1st Round (ca. 10–15 Min.): Mon. 23.10.– Wed. 25.10.
2nd Round (ca. 20–25 Min.): Thurs. 26.10.– Fri. 27.10.
3nd Round (ca. 40 Min.): Fri. 27.10.–Sat. 28.10.
Gala concert (with prize awarding ceremony): Sat. 28.10. 20 Uhr

Prizes
For each Category there will be three prizes (in €):
Category I

1st Prize 1.500
2nd Prize 900
3rd Prize 500

Category II

1st Prize 1.500
2nd Prize 900
3rd Prize 500

Category III/3 oder III/4
1st Prize 2.000/2.600
2nd Prize 1.300/1.700
3rd Prize 700/900

Special prize of €500 by Soroptimist International
Concert performance in the program of the Kulturkreis Uelzen e.V.
Acceptance of a prize obliges participation in the closing gala concert with a work to be decided upon by the jury.

Jury decisions
The jury can award special merit prizes outside of the regular prizes. The decisions of the jury – including nonawarding, sharing and merging a prize – are final and cannot be challenged. Legal challenges are excluded.

Rights recordings / publications
The organizer reserves the right to take photos and to audio- or videotape during the competition and the final concert and to use the material at its own discretion. The rights to these recordings remain with the organizer; the participants do not have any entitlement to compensation. Only the organizer is authorized to make or approve audio and video recordings – all others are prohibited from doing so. In addition, the organizer is entitled to publish information about the participants in the context of the competition (name, nationality, instrument, price, etc.).

Cancellation
The organizer reserves the right to postpone, cancel or carry out the competition in a different way (e.g. digitally) should this be necessary due to official regulations or recommendations. In the event of cancellation, we will reimburse the registration fee.

Recognition of Conditions of the Competition
On submission of the completed application form, the applicants recognize the above competition conditions. If a participant does not follow the conditions of the competition the jury will decide upon the consequences. If you have questions, please contact the competition office.

Privacy Policy
In the collection, processing and use of personal data, we comply with the legal requirements. We only collect data that we need in order to register and inform participants and to fulfill the purpose of the association. The data will not be used for any other purpose. Upon request, we will inform you of what data has been stored, we will also correct incorrect data or delete data if this does not violate any other legal regulations. We protect our data against loss, sabotage and unauthorized access.

More information below

Conditions of the Competition Category IV

Category IV takes place exclusively as an online competition. Ensembles submit one video per link. The jury will select the winners from these entries.

Repertoire and instrumentation Category IV and Video-Links
Chamber music ensembles with two to five instruments can take part. The repertoire selection is limited to works by Friedrich Kuhlau.

The program must be 20-25 minutes long and consist of a work or works by Friedrich Kuhlau. Transcriptions, arrangements and the performance of single movements are allowed. The choice of instruments is free.

The complete repertoire must be recorded in a single video-recording and has to be made available to the jury via a link.

The video recording must not have been made before March 1, 2023. The video recording may not be published on social media (Facebook, YouTube, etc.) before October 28, 2023.

Copies of the sheet music of the selected pieces have to be made available to the jury as scans.
Playing from photocopies is not permitted.

The jury reserves the right to only listen to parts of the recordings.

The recording must comply with the requirements for video recordings.

Requirements
All competitors who have registered according to the rules, are admitted to the competition. The average age of an ensemble cannot exceed 32 years at the time of the competition. The maximum age of a member of an ensemble cannot exceed 35 years. The minimum age for participation is 16 years. A copy of the passport or identity card must be sent in with the application.

Application
Registration for Category IV happens in two stages:
1) Registration online www.kuhlau.de by June 15, 2023 (extended deadline!) and transfer of the competition fee.
2) Sending a video link to info@kuhlau.de by June 15, 2023. The following information and documents must be sent along with the video link:
• Information on the selected repertoire
• Copies of the sheet music of the selected pieces
• Name of the ensemble (optional), names of participants
• date and place of the recording, other persons involved
Only when all documents are available and the competition fee has been transferred, the ensemble is considered registered.

Application Deadline / Registration Fee
The final date for the initial application is June 15, 2023 (extended deadline!). On applying, candidates are required to transfer a registration fee of €65 per ensemble to the following account:

Bank: Sparkasse Uelzen Lüchow-Dannenberg
Payee: Kulturkreis Uelzen e.V.
IBAN: DE12 2585 0110 0000 026526
BIC: NOLADE21UEL
Reference: Kuhlau2023Online (+names of participants)

Any charges arising have to be paid by the person making the payment. The name of the competitors must be printed on the bank transfer even if the payment is made by another person. Take advantage of the online application under www.kuhlau.de and payment by PayPal. (PayPal-Email: info@kk-uelzen.de).
The registration fee of €65 will not be refunded under any circumstances (exception: cancellation of the competition by the organizer).

Video recording requirements
The recording must be made in good quality. The repertoire must be filmed continuously, in one take, without cuts, from a fixed perspective and without sound or image editing.
Participants and ensembles should present the works as in a normal competition audition. The breaks between the pieces are part of the playing time. The length of the video must comply with the competition regulations (20-25 min.).
When recording, all members of the ensemble must be continuously visible. The hands and instruments should be visible and not covered by e.g. the music stand. Good quality cell phone recordings are permitted. External microphones are permitted.

Further notes on video recording
For a successful recording we recommend:
Landscape format
Sufficient frame rate
Acoustically suitable room
Good light
Matching image section
All members of the ensemble should be visible as completely as possible (from head to toe; at least from head to knees); the picture should not be taken from too great a distance.
Good sound quality
The ensemble should attach particular importance to good sound quality, to allow the jury to have the best possible judgement. The musical performance is decisive for the evaluation; the picture completes the overall artistic impression and serves to establish identity. Editing of the video file in any way is not permitted.
Picture and sound in sync
If the movements and the sound do not match, this can lead to exclusion from the competition.

Time Schedule
The following schedule for the competition is planned (the organizers reserve the right to make any necessary changes to the schedule):
Online registration and transfer of the competition fee: by June 15, 2023 (extended deadline!) AND Online transmission of a video file: until June 15, 2023
Online announcement of the finalists selected by the jury: October 22, 2023
Announcement of all prizewinners (Category I-IV) in the final concert of the competition in Uelzen: October 28, 2023
All award winners will afterwards be announced online.

Prizes
For each Category there will be three prizes (in €):
Category VI
1st Prize 1.000
2nd Prize 500
3rd Prize 300
The prize money will be transferred after the award ceremony and the certificates will be sent by post or email; Participation certificates will be sent by email upon request.

Jury and Jury decisions
The online-jury consists of the chairwoman of the jury and two other jurors from the competition in 2023 in Uelzen.
The jury can award special merit prizes outside of the regular prizes. The decisions of the jury – including nonawarding, sharing and merging a prize – are final and cannot be challenged. Legal challenges are excluded.

Juryfeedback
After the award ceremony, participants can receive feedback on their performance from the jurors.
Detailed information on the jury feedback and the possibility of making an appointment will be published after the registration period has expired.

Cancellation
The organizer reserves the right to postpone, cancel or carry out the competition in a different way should this be necessary due to official regulations or recommendations. In the event of cancellation, we will reimburse the registration fee.

Recognition of Conditions of the Competition
On submission of the completed application form, the applicants recognize the above competition conditions. If a participant does not follow the conditions of the competition the jury will decide upon the consequences. If you have questions, please contact the competition office.

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Organizers

Kulturkreis Uelzen e.V. www.kk-uelzen.de
in Zusammenarbeit mit der Hansestadt Uelzen

Contact

Internationaler Flötenwettbewerb Friedrich Kuhlau
International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition
Herzogenplatz 2
D 29525 Uelzen
Telefon: +49 (0)581 800 62 47
E-Mail: info@kuhlau.de
Internet: www.kuhlau.de
Facebook: @KuhlauCompetition

Venue

Theater an der Ilmenau
Greyerstr. 3 | D 29525 Uelzen
www.theater-uelzen.de

Conditions of the Competition