The song duo George Clark (baritone) and Rachel Doubijanski (fortepiano) have won the 1st International Fanny Hensel Competition
The two final concerts, each featuring four duos from four continents, took place on Saturday, 25 April 2026, at Weißenbrunn Castle in Franconia. The participants had the opportunity to perform songs by Fanny Hensel and her brother Felix Mendelssohn on three different original instruments.
Weißenbrunn, 26 April. At the world’s first and only competition for song duos with fortepiano, dedicated exclusively to the works of Fanny Hensel – the Fanny Hensel Competition – the duo comprising George Clark (UK), baritone, and Rachel Doubijanski (Germany) won first prize. Benedetta Zanotto, soprano, and Axel Trolese from Italy were awarded second prize, whilst the Duo Convivium (Lucia Boisserée, soprano, and Tung-Han Hu) from Germany/Taiwan received third prize. The audience prizes were won by the German duo Johannes Arzt, baritone, and David Höppner (voted for on-site) and the duo Verheij & Sorotokin (Jasperina Verheij, soprano, and Agata Sorotokin), Netherlands/USA, via online voting. The award ceremony took place on the evening of 25 April following the two final concerts at Weißenbrunn Castle in Franconia.
Pia Praetorius, Artistic Director of the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation and Chair of the Jury, explains: “We are delighted that we – the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation – have organised the first International Fanny Hensel Competition for Lied Duos with Fortepiano. The fact that 49 duos from four continents applied in response to our call for entries shows just how great the interest in Fanny Hensel’s work is – and how much a competition focusing on it has been lacking. The final exceeded our expectations: eight duos with distinctive artistic approaches, who performed together to such a high standard on our foundation’s original fortepianos from the first half of the 19th century. The winning duos are ambassadors for Fanny Hensel’s work, which has been overshadowed for far too long.”
Dmitry Ablogin, member of the jury, on the first-prize winners George Clark and Rachel Doubijanski: “We chose this duo because, on the one hand, they collaborated wonderfully musically – they supported one another where necessary, whilst at the same time giving each other space. On the other hand, we were impressed by their individual artistic achievements: in Rachel Doubijanski’s sensitive yet powerful fortepiano playing, we could hear her musicality and her deep engagement with historical pianos. George Clark’s singing was characterised by versatility and a wealth of nuance. The duo simply moved us: both emotionally and intellectually. In the end, it was also a decision of the heart for us on the jury.”
From left to right: The judges Dmitry Ablogin, Olga Pashchenko and Pia Praetorius, together with the presenter Olaf Roth, chief dramaturg at the Bavarian State Opera.
Eight duos featuring musicians from Germany, Italy, Austria, Australia, the UK, France, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the USA performed for the audience and the jury in two concerts at 3 pm and 6 pm. They had been selected from 49 applications and each performed a selection from ten prepared songs – eight by Fanny Hensel and two by her brother Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Three original fortepianos from the first half of the 19th century were available as instruments: fortepianos by Brodmann (1827), Graf (1824) and Pleyel (1836) – all part of the historical instrument collection of the Weißenbrunn Castle Foundation.
The jury – Olga Pashchenko, Dmitry Ablogin, Jan Kobow (joining online) and Pia Praetorius – awarded the following prizes: 1st prize: €8,500, 2nd prize: €5,000, 3rd prize: €3,000, Audience Prize: €1,000. The prize-winners will also receive concert invitations from the Bad Krozingen Castle Concerts, Seehaus Castle, the Mendelssohn-Remise Berlin and the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation itself. Henle Verlag is also sponsoring a prize.
Overview of prize-winners:
1st Prize, €8,500: George Clark, baritone & Rachel Doubijanski (United Kingdom/Germany)
2nd Prize, €5,000: Benedetta Zanotto, soprano & Axel Trolese (Italy)
3rd Prize, €3,000: Duo Convivium (Lucia Boisserée, soprano & Tung-Han Hu), Germany/Taiwan
Audience Award, online voting, €1,000: Duo Verheij & Sorotokin (Jasperina Verheij, soprano, & Agata Sorotokin), Netherlands/USA
Audience Award, on-site voting, €500: Johannes Arzt, baritone & David Höppner (Germany)
From left to right: 1st prize: Clark/Doubijanski, 2nd prize: Zanotto/Trolese, 3rd prize: Duo Convivium
Concert invitation to the Mendelssohn-Remise in Berlin: Les Vaguabondes Lied Duo (Madeleine Treilhou, soprano & Nicole Rigoni), France/Italy
Concert invitation to Bad Krozingen Castle: Banksia Duo (Jesse Linke, soprano & Izaak Masters), Australia
Concert invitation to Seehaus Castle: Duo Convivium
Concert invitation to Weißenbrunn Castle: Duo Mitterbauer I Spring (Tabea Mitterbauer, soprano & Erika Spring), Austria
Henle Special Prize: Duo Mitterbauer I Spring
Photos of the prize winners can be downloaded via the following link:https://courtiers.wetransfer.com/previews/735ac24afc7b402bd376a5fc126816ba20260425212900/7465e8
The final concerts and interviews with participants and the jury can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEI9tKSffUM
About the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation
The non-profit Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation was established in 2019 by Wolfgang Kropp. It is developing into a centre for historical performance practice and offers musicians residencies, combined with concerts and film recordings. Through educational programmes for children and young people, the foundation brings classical music to rural areas of Franconia.
Further information: www.schloss-weissenbrunn.de