Conditions of Competition

The registration deadline is August 19, 2025.

The 21st International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition will take place October 19-25, 2025, in Uelzen/Germany.

Competition regulations for download:

Jury

Anna Dina Bjørn-Larsen, Chair / Germany

Trond Magne Brekka / Norway

Mario Caroli / Italy

Christina Fassbender / Germany

Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren / Hungary

Matthieu Gauci-Ancelin / France

Hyeri Yoon / South Korea

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.

Repertoire

All works listed in the repertoire list must be fully prepared. The jury reserves the right to choose parts of it.

All works free of choice for the 1st and 2nd round have to be communicated to the competition office by September 19, 2025.

The selected pieces for the 1st and 2nd round of Category III have to be made available to the jury as PDFs and with 3 copies at the start of the competition.

The selected pieces for the 3rd round have to be made available to the jury as PDFs and with 3 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 1st round of the competition. The age of an individual competitor or 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 19, 2025 and transfer of the competition fee.

2) Informal confirmation of registration and information about works free of choice (1st and 2nd round) by e-mail four weeks before the start of the competition (September 19, 2025).

3) Personal registration in the competition office on October 19, 2025 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 19, 2025. On applying, candidates are required to transfer a registration fee of €265 per soloist/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: Kuhlau2025 (+names of participants)

*Scan the QR code with your banking app and add the names of the 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.

Payment can also be made via PayPal. (PayPal-Email: info@kk-uelzen.de).

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. 19.10., 2–6 PM

1st Round (ca. 10–15 Min.): Mon. 20.10. – Wed. 22.10.

2nd Round (ca. 20–25 Min.): Thurs. 23.10. – Fri. 24.10.

3nd Round (ca. 40 Min.): Fri. 24.10. –Sat. 25.10.

Gala concert (with prize awarding ceremony): Sat. 25.10., 8 PM

Prizes

For each Category there are three prizes (in €):

Category	I	II	III/3	or III/4	or III/5
1st Prize	850	2250	2250	3000	3750
2nd Prize	600	1500	1500	2000	2500
3rd Prize	350	750	750	1000	1250

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.

Organizers

Kulturkreis Uelzen e.V., www.kk-uelzen.de

in Zusammenarbeit mit der Hansestadt Uelzen, www.kts-uelzen.de

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

Instagram: kuhlau_competition

Veranstaltungsort

Theater an der Ilmenau

Greyerstr. 3