Scholarship for exceptional harpists

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Harpist Álmos László Tallós, a student in the HfMT harp class under Prof. Xavier de Maistre and Anaëlle Tourret, is the recipient of the prestigious Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship 2024/25. The scholarship is awarded annually to outstanding young musicians by the Wetzlarer Kulturgemeinschaft e.V. with the support of the Ernst Leitz Foundation and the Orchestre National Avignon Provence.

He reinvents music at the moment of playing, says Álmos László Tallóswinner of the Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship 2024/25, after the jury's decision. The 21-year-old Hungarian is studying harp with Prof. Xavier de Maistre and Anaëlle Tourret at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama. He beat the other two finalists, 24-year-old soprano Antonia Modes and 25-year-old pianist Jonas Stark, in the competition audition on September 6, 2024 in Haus Friedwart. Álmos Tallós will receive €400 per month for two semesters and will also have two concert engagements in Wetzlar and in Wetzlar's twin city Avignon as part of the scholarship, there in collaboration with the Orchestre National Avignon Provence. "As an international student, it's particularly difficult to organize concerts and performances because you don't have an established circle of contacts," says the young harpist, who is delighted about the concert appearances associated with the scholarship. And as he is currently playing a loan harp, the scholarship money brings him closer to his big dream of buying his own instrument.

The jury was impressed by the scholarship holder's musicality and creativity and by the young artist's improvisational skills. The selection committee praised the fact that he also arranges new repertoire for his instrument and composes it himself. For the young harpist, this is an important part of his artistic activity: "With my playing and my compositions, I want to redefine how the harp is perceived, how it sounds and what is even possible on the harp." Álmos Tallós performs regularly both as a soloist and with orchestras and has won prizes at national and international competitions, including the International Harp Competition in Szeged, the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition and the Hong Kong International Harp Competition.
Students from 14 countries who are completing their artistic training at German music academies applied for the Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship. It was not easy for the international jury to make a selection, as "the standard of all the applications was once again of the highest level", emphasizes Boris Rupp, Chairman of the Wetzlar Cultural Community and a member of the eight-strong international jury.

The Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship
The Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship, which is awarded annually by the Wetzlar Cultural Community with the support of the Ernst Leitz Foundation and the Orchestre National Avignon Provence, is intended to help young musicians develop their artistic potential in the best possible way. In the 2024/25 call for applications, the scholarship was aimed at talented young musicians aged between 18 and 25 who are studying or have studied piano, harp or singing at a German music academy.

Since its foundation in 1945, the Wetzlar Cultural Association, which awards the top-class scholarship, has organized classical concerts at the highest level. The association, which is steeped in tradition, is also committed to supporting talented musicians, both students and graduates who are pursuing a freelance career as an artist. The winner of the scholarship awarded for the first time in 2023 was violinist Tassilo Probst.
The scholarship from the Wetzlar Cultural Association is in memory of Dr. Elsie Kühn-Leitz. An honorary citizen of the cities of Wetzlar and Avignon, in the years following the Second World War, she made a remarkable contribution not only to the reconstruction of culture in Wetzlar, but also to Franco-German understanding. She co-founded the Wetzlar Cultural Community, which she led from 1946-1977.
In addition to a monthly grant of €400 for one year (two semesters), the scholarship also includes two public concert appearances, in Wetzlar and in Wetzlar's twin city Avignon - there together with the Orchestre National Avignon Provence.
The international selection committee for the Elsie Kühn-Leitz Scholarship includes Boris Rupp, Chairman of the Wetzlar Cultural Community, Anne-Sophie Bertrand from France, principal harpist of the hr Symphony Orchestra, Cordelia Palm, concertmaster of the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence, Luiza Borac, Romanian concert pianist and artistic director of the international György Kurtàg Music Competition, Adelheid Kleine, music editor at hr2-kultur, the singer and singing teacher Nicole Tamburro, lecturer in singing and speech training at Justus Liebig University Giessen, the organist and church music director Joachim Eichhorn, member of the board of the Ernst Leitz Foundation, and the Chinese pianist Haiou Zhang, music director of the International Music Festival Buxtehude, Altes Land, Harburg and Stade and music director of Öschberghof Klassik.