Alina Li from Potsdam won the 13th edition of the "Rust Prize" violin competition on Sunday. After placing second in 2024, the 15-year-old completely convinced the jury this time, according to the co-organizing Anhaltisches Theater Dessau. The musician thus retained the master violin provided to her as a loan instrument. She also received €700 in prize money.

Rust Prize Winner 2026

The second prize went to 17-year-old Amrei Martina von Drünen from Dessau. She can play a master violin of her choice from the East German Savings Banks Foundation until the next competition in 2028. Her prize also includes €500. The third prize was awarded jointly: 14-year-old Elli Giulietta Brehme from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and 12-year-old Eliana Esther Rovner from Dresden each received €250.

The special prize of the Anhalt Theatre was awarded to Marie-Luise Lange. The Dessau native, who studies at the Weimar University of Music, will perform as a soloist with the Anhalt Philharmonic and successfully defended her title on her master instrument from the previous competition.

The "Rust Prize" is named after the composer Friedrich Wilhelm Rust (1739-1796). Talented young musicians between the ages of twelve and twenty-one from Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt are eligible to participate. The competition takes place every two years. The instruments awarded are commissioned by the Savings Banks Foundation and crafted by violin makers from eastern Germany. This aims to support both emerging artists and the long-standing tradition of violin making.

© MH - All rights reserved.