Freedom & Peace. International Composition Competition with Award Ceremony
Stirring music and strong voices for a more peaceful world: on Sunday, 1 February 2026 at 5:00 p.m., an extraordinary concert evening will take place at the Conservatory of Bolzano. At the world premiere of the international composition competition Freedom & Peace, nine selected works from around the globe will be performed for the first time—powerful, moving, and of high artistic quality.
The Freedom & Peace composition competition is the result of a collaboration unique in South Tyrol, driven by the desire to understand music not only as an art form, but also as an expression of social responsibility. The competition was initiated by the Catholic Men’s Movement, the South Tyrolean Artists’ Association, the South Tyrolean Choral Association, and the Provincial Directorate of the German and Ladin Music Schools. What unites these organizations is their belief in the power of music as an expression of responsibility and as a medium of hope. Artistic direction is by Josef Lanz. The premieres will be conducted by Luigi Azzolini, Emir Saul, and Martin Wieser; Dieter Scoz will host the evening, and Otwin Nothdurfter will present texts written especially for this occasion.
The aim of the call for scores was to give musical space to the themes of freedom and peace and to convey them in a deeply affecting way. In a time increasingly marked by tensions and conflicts, music was intended to become a place of engagement, tolerance, and dialogue. More than 60 compositions from all over the world were submitted, including works from Argentina, Norway, China, the Czech Republic, and Italy. An expert jury selected nine works to be premiered on 1 February. These are first performances by Jakob Augschöll (Italy), Gerson Batista (Portugal), Alessio Ferrante (Italy), Leon Gurvitch (Germany), Peter Helmut Lang (Germany), Sebastian Ernesto Pafundo (Argentina), Michèle Schladebach (Germany), Josef Unterhofer (Italy), and Otto Wanke (Czech Republic/Austria).
The organizers are delighted by the strong international response to this unifying competition and look forward to hearing the musical interpretations at the concert in Bolzano. In the genres of vocal music and instrumental ensemble, the compositions from Europe and overseas demonstrate how varied—and yet united—the musical call for peace can be.
The jury was chaired by Josef Lanz, musicologist and long-standing artistic director of the Gustav Mahler Music Weeks in Toblach and musica viva Vinschgau. Serving alongside him were Alexandra Pedrotti (Provincial Directorate of Music Schools), Fr. Urban Stillhard (Muri-Gries Monastery), Gernot Niederfriniger (South Tyrolean Folk Music Association), composer Hannes Kerschbaumer, music critic Ferruccio Delle Cave, and Hans Viertler of the Catholic Men’s Movement. The initiators are convinced: where words reach their limits, music can make the unsayable tangible.
The premieres will be conducted by Luigi Azzolini, Emir Saul, and Martin Wieser. Dieter Scoz will guide the audience through the evening; journalist Otwin Nothdurfter has written texts that he will present for the first time on this occasion. Artistic direction is by Josef Lanz. The evening concludes with the Audience Award, for which those present will vote on site.
The composition competition is supported by the South Tyrolean Artists’ Association, the South Tyrolean Choral Association, the Provincial Directorate of the German and Ladin Music Schools, the Catholic Men’s and Women’s Movements, and South Tyrol’s Catholic Youth. Financial support is provided by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the Sparkasse Foundation, the Italian Ministry of Culture, and the “Claudio Monteverdi” Conservatory of Music in Bolzano. It promises to be an evening that invites listening and reflection. Admission is free; voluntary donations are welcome.