Four prizes at once: Brian Isaacs successful at international viola competition
Brian Isaacs won the second prize in the viola category at the International Max Rostal Competition in Berlin. He was also awarded the audience prize, the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work and the special prize of the Freunde Junger Musiker Berlin e.V. Congratulations!
At the HfMDK he is studying for his concert exam in the class of Prof. Tabea Zimmermann.
» I am very honored to have been awarded the second prize and all the special prizes at the Rostal International Viola Competition! My sincere gratitude goes to my mentors, Sebastian Krunnies and Tabea Zimmermann, for all their help and guidance in my preparation. «Brian Isaacs
The competition took place from October 19 to 25, 2024 at the Berlin University of the Arts. In the final round on October 24, Brian Isaacs played William Walton's Concerto for Viola together with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the direction of Pavel Baleff. He was then awarded the second prize, which is endowed with 3,000 euros. The audience prize is endowed with 1,000 euros and the special prizes with 500 euros each. As the second prize winner, he also receives three sets of strings from Pirastro.
This year's jury consisted of Marianne Piketty, Kyung Sun Lee, Christoph Poppen, Lars Anders Tomter, Nils Mönkemeyer and Carol Rodland, with David Geringas in the chair.
Vita
American violist Brian Isaacs is based in Berlin as a member of both the class of Tabea Zimmermann (Konzertexamen, HfMDK Frankfurt) and the Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker, where he is mentored by Sebastian Krunnies.
Brian has received awards and prizes from international competitions such as Rostal, Nedbal, Grunewald, and Rubinstein, as well as institutions such as the Verbier Festival Academy, Yale University, and Frank Huntington Beebe Fund.
An avid chamber musician, Brian has participated in numerous festivals and series, including Four Seasons, Geneva String Academy, Gstaad String Academy, La Jolla SummerFest, Methow Valley, NUME, Taos, Thy, Tonhain Kollektiv, Verbier Festival Academy, Viridian Strings, and Yellow Barn.
A native New Yorker and graduate of Yale University, Brian received his MM in Viola Performance, studying with Ettore Causa, and his BA in Sociology. He plays on a viola made in 2017 by Douglas Cox in Brattleboro, VT.
