Special Prize at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb 2025

Jonas Stark, winner of the Hong Kong International Piano Competition 2022, has performed throughout Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, China, the Philippines, and Australia. As a soloist in piano concertos, he has performed with the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra, the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the North German Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and the Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop, Marcus Bosch, Martin Fratz, Dietger Holm, Axel Kober, and Kahchun Wong

Previous competition successes include a first prize at the national level and two special prizes at the Jugend musiziert competition in 2014 in 2014, first prize at the Walter Gieseking Competition in 2017, third prize at the International Schubert Competition in Dortmund in 2021, and two special prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2022 and at the German Music Competition in 2025 (special prize from the Carl Bechstein Foundation). In addition, Jonas has twice received the Saarland Special Prize for outstanding solo performances.

Jonas Stark began his musical studies with Jelena Semenenko at the age of 5. After completing his bachelor’s degree in 2018 at the HfM Saar under Professor Thomas Duis, he went on to earn his master’s degree and professional diploma under Professor Ian Fountain at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Since 2021, Jonas has been studying in the solo class of Professor Roland Krüger at the University of Music, Drama, and Media in Hanover, where he has also held a teaching position for piano since 2023.

Jonas is a scholarship holder of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the DAAD, the German Music Foundation, the Hans and Ruth Giessen Foundation, the Imogen Cooper Music Trust, the Jürgen Ponto Foundation, the Concert Promotion Fund of the German Music Council, and the German National Academic Foundation.