© Gerd Lache, St. Märgen
Fine Fuchs and Mariella Hermann won the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s special prize at the 2025 National competition Bundeswettbewerb Jugend musiziert 2025 in Wuppertal.
Mariella Hermann, born in September 2009 in Freiburg im Breisgau, began her musical education with early music lessons at Kindliche Lernwelt Musik e.V. and the Freiburg Cathedral Choir School. She received her first piano lessons at the age of 4 from her mother and then, at the age of 5, began studying with Aniko Drabon, followed by Olga Belledin-Krasotova. She is currently being taught by Adhi Tanumihardja in Freiburg. Mariella also received violin lessons from Vivica Percy and Mara Zickgraf at the Pflüger Foundation in Freiburg until July 2024. She also played the violin and harpsichord in several work phases with the Landesjugendbarockorchester LJBO (State Youth Baroque Orchestra).
She currently receives lessons in music theory and aural training from Maria Sintamarian through the network of the Freiburg Academy for Gifted Students (FAB) at the Freiburg University of Music, which has given her the opportunity to participate in masterclasses with Prof. Christoph Sischka.
Mariella has been singing in the Freiburg Cathedral Music Girls’ Choir under the direction of Martina van Lengerich since 2024. She regularly participated in the “Jugend musiziert” competition in various categories – piano solo, piano four hands, duo: piano and a woodwind instrument, string ensemble – and has now reached the national competition for the second time. There, she received first prize in the duo category “piano and a woodwind instrument” in age group III together with Fine Fuchs, with the maximum score of 25 points. In addition, the two musicians will be awarded the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s special prize as a duo in July 2025.
Fine Fuchs, born in November 2012 in Freiburg im Breisgau, has been playing the recorder since she was five years old in Hildegard Wippermann’s recorder class at the Nördlicher Breisgau Music School. Since 2021, she has also been taking piano lessons at the music school. In addition to music, Fine enjoys track and field. In 2025, she also made it to the state finals of the German Book Trade’s reading competition in Stuttgart. In 2024 and 2025, she sang in the Stagelife Denzlingen children’s choir in the musical production “Oliver!”.
Fine has participated in the Jugend musiziert competition four times so far. In the solo recorder category, she won first prize with the highest score at the regional level (2021) and state level (2024) in her 2021 and 2024 participations. With a flute trio, Fine and her fellow musicians achieved 25 points and first prize at the state level in 2023. In 2025, Fine played with Mariella in the “Piano and a Woodwind Instrument” category. As they competed in age group III, they were eligible to advance to the national competition this year. Here, Fine and Mariella were awarded first prize (25 points) and a special prize from the Carl Bechstein Foundation.
photo © Gerd Lache, St. Märgen