Composer Yehong Gao has been awarded the 9th Hanns Eisler Scholarship by the city of Leipzig. A jury selected the Chinese composer from among 67 international applicants, the city announced on Wednesday. The award was to be presented to the composer, born in 1996, that evening during a concert at the Gewandhaus concert hall.

Yehong Gao (Photo: © private)

Yehong Gao impressed the jury, which included composer and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher, "as an interesting composer who, despite her young age, has already developed a distinctive compositional style of her own," it was said.

The scholarship recipient will be able to live rent-free in Eisler's birthplace for five months, starting in May 2027, to dedicate herself to her previously outlined work project. She will receive €1,200 per month for living expenses. The finished work is scheduled to be premiered in October 2027 by pianist Schleiermacher and the Ensemble Avantgarde.

The scholarship, first awarded in 2018, commemorates the composer Hanns Eisler, who was born in Leipzig on July 6, 1898. He died in Berlin on September 6, 1962.

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