German Music Instrument Award 2009

Presented in the categories 4/4 violin and bass tuba with
piston valves!

For outstanding musical-instrument making!

The German Music Instrument Award has been awarded annually on the occasion of the Musikmesse in Frankfurt am Main since 1991. This year, the Award goes to three musical-instrument makers from Markneukirchen, Munich and Bubenreuth. The Award is given for instruments in two categories that are changed every year. Musical-instrument makers from all over Germany can enter their instruments for the competition, in which the instruments are subjected to a strict selection process covering not only acoustics, manufacturing quality and playability but also value for money.

This year, the Awards in the 4/4 violin category go to violin maker Nele Jülch from Munich for her ‘Modell Stradivari’ violin and to Ernst Heinrich Roth KG from Bubenreuth for their ‘Passenda’ violin. In the bass tuba category, the German Music Instrument Award goes to JA Musik from Markneukirchen for the bass tuba, model B&S JBL Classics 3100WG-L.

The awards ceremony will be held in Café Classic in Hall 1.2 of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre in the presence of Dagmar Wöhrl, Member of the German Bundestag and Parliamentary Secretary of State in the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, at 18.00 hrs on Thursday, 2 April 2009.
The two award-wining violins have been made in accordance with the Cremona tradition of a Stradivari and are characterised by the use of naturally-aged woods. Both violin makers use tried and tested recipes for the varnish. In the final analysis, the two violins were considered to be equally good and thus share the German Music Instrument Award in the 4/4 violin category.

The bass tuba of JA Musik was developed in cooperation with Prof. Jens Björn-Larsen, European Chamber Orchestra, and Professor for Tuba in Hanover. Björn-Larsen achieved all his greatest successes playing his B&S F-Tuba 3100W over a period of many years. Thus, when it was decided to introduce a new version of this tuba, it made sense to involve the musician in the improvements and changes. Although the proportions were revised and the first valve integrated into a new mouthpipe, the sound remains that typical of Björn-Larsen’s bass tuba.
JA Musik will be exhibiting during the Musikmesse in Hall 1.1, Stand F21.
To determine the award-winners, the instruments submitted have to undergo a three-stage testing procedure. Five musicians assess the instruments in action, whereas the acoustic properties of the instruments are determined "objectively, without the influence of the performer". In a third stage, an expert evaluates the instruments in terms of their handcrafted workmanship.

In 2010, the German Musical Instrument Award will be given in the categories bassoon and b-flat trumpet (piston valve). The closing date for submission of entries to the Institut für Musikinstrumentenbau is 22 April 2009. Applicants can obtain the complete application pack from:
Institut für Musikinstrumentenbau
Klingenthaler Straße 42
D-08267 Zwota
Telephone: +49 37467 23481, e-mail: post@ifm-zwota.de

Further information about the Musikmesse, as well as photographs for downloading, can be found at http://musik.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/de/besucher/awards/deutscher_musikinstrumentenpreis.html

Musikmesse is the world's biggest international trade fair for musical instruments, music software & computer hardware, sheet music and accessories. Around 75,000 trade visitors from the musical-instrument sector, manufacturers, dealers, professional and amateur musicians made their way to Frankfurt for the last event in March 2008. Musikmesse is complemented perfectly by the Prolight + Sound trade fair, which is held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre at the same time. Additionally, Musikmesse visitors have free entry to the Prolight + Sound trade fair for audio, lighting, event and communication technology.

Andreas Höflich
B74 Marketingkommunikation
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1
60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)69 7575-6866
Fax +49 (0)69 7575-6099
andreas.hoeflich@messefrankfurt.com
www.messefrankfurt.com

This release was published on openPR.