# Walter W. Naumburg Foundation

The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young classical musicians in North America. Founded in 1925, it operates the prestigious Naumburg Competition.

## Foundation and concerts

It was founded in 1925 by Walter Wehle Naumburg, a wealthy amateur cellist and son of noted New York City music patron and philanthropist Elkan Naumburg. Elkan Naumburg, owner of the eminent Wall Street bank E. Naumburg & Co., founded the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in 1905. The concerts were originally performed at the bandstand on the concert ground of New York's Central Park, and starting in 1923 were performed in the Naumburg Bandshell at the same location.

## Naumburg Competition

The Naumburg Competition is one of the oldest and most prestigious music competitions in the world. The website San Francisco Classical Voice writes that "the Naumburg Competition has one of the best track records of selecting young musicians who, in short order, build significant careers". The first competition was held in 1926. In an open audition format, pianists, violinists, and cellists were all eligible to compete. In 1928 it was expanded to include vocalists. The prize included cash awards and the opportunity to play concerts in New York's Town Hall, which virtually insured reviews by New York's most influential music critics. In 1946, Aaron Copland and William Schuman joined the Naumburg Foundation board of directors, and shortly afterwards the Foundation began awarding composers with recording projects. In 1961, the format of the competition was changed into a professional competition with a single winner, for one particular discipline. In 1965, the competition was expanded to include chamber music ensembles.
Since the early 1970s, the Naumburg Competition has generally rotated three different categories – piano, strings, and voice – on a triennial basis (although there have also been competitions for flute, clarinet, and classical guitar). Winners receive a cash prize and two recital appearances in Alice Tully Hall. Other opportunities include a recording project, a commission (to be premiered in one of the Alice Tully Hall recitals) and many performance opportunities throughout the United States.
Previous winners of the International Naumburg Competition include Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Elmar Oliveira, Dawn Upshaw, Robert Mann, Adele Marcus, Jorge Bolet, Kun-Woo Paik, Leonidas Kavakos, Abbey Simon, William Kapell, Stephen Hough, and Harvey Shapiro. Winners of the Chamber Music Award include the American, Brentano, Miro, and Muir string quartets, and the Eroica Trio.

### Winners
#### 1925

    Catherine Wade-Smith, violinist
    Adeline Masino, violinist
    Bernard Ocko, violinist

#### 1926

    Phyllis Kraeuter, cellist
    Margaret Hamilton, pianist
    Sonia Skalka, pianist

#### 1927

    Dorothy Kendrick, pianist
    William Sauber, pianist
    Sadah Schwartz-Shuchari, violinist
    Daniel Saidenberg, cellist
    Julian Kahn, cellist

#### 1928

    Adele Marcus, pianist
    Helen Berlin, violinist
    Louis Kaufman, violinist
    Olga Zundel, cellist
    George Rasely, tenor
    August Werner, baritone

#### 1930

    Helen McGraw, pianist
    Ruth Culbertson, pianist
    Mila Wellerson, cellist
    Louise Bernhardt, contralto

#### 1931

    Lillian Rehberg Goodman, cellist
    Marguerite Hawkins, soprano
    Edwiria Eustis, contralto
    Kurtis Brownell, tenor

#### 1932

    Milo Miloradovich, soprano
    Foster Miller, bass-baritone
    Dalies Frantz, pianist
    Huddie Johnson, pianist
    Inez Lauritano, violinist

#### 1933

    Catherine Carver, pianist
    Harry Katzman, violinist

#### 1934

    Joseph Knitzer, violinist
    Ruby Mercer, soprano

#### 1935

    Benjamin De Loache, baritone
    Judith Sidorsky, pianist
    Aniceta Shea, soprano
    Harvey Shapiro, cellist
    Florence Vickland, soprano
    Marshall Moss, violinist

#### 1936

    Frederick Buldrini, violinist

#### 1937

    Jorge Bolet, pianist
    Ida Krehm, pianist
    Pauline Pierce, mezzo-soprano
    Maurice Bialkin, cellist

#### 1938

    Carroll Glenn, violinist

#### 1939

    Mara Sebriansky, violinist
    William Horne, tenor
    Zadel Skolovsky, pianist
    Gertrude Gibson, soprano

#### 1940

    Abbey Simon, pianist
    Harry Cykman, violinist
    Thomas Richner, pianist

#### 1941

    William Kapell, pianist
    Robert Mann, violinist
    Lura Stover, soprano

#### 1942

    Jane Rogers, contralto
    Annette Elkanova, pianist
    David Sarser, violinist

#### 1943

    Dolores Miller, violinist
    Constance Keene, pianist
    Ruth Geiger, pianist

#### 1944

    Jeanne Therrien, pianist
    Jean Carlton, soprano
    Carol Brice, contralto

#### 1945

    Jane Boedeker, mezzo-soprano
    Paula Lenchner, soprano

#### 1946

    Leonid Hambro, pianist
    Jeanne Rosenbium, pianist
    Anahid Ajemian, violinist

#### 1947

    Berl Senofsky, violinist
    Abba Bogin, pianist
    Jane Carlson, pianist

#### 1948

    Sidney Harth, violinist
    Paul Olefsky, cellist
    Theodore Lettvin, pianist

#### 1949

    Lorne Munroe, cellist

#### 1950

    Angelene Collins, soprano
    Esther Glazer, violinist
    Betty-Jean Hagen, violinist
    Margaret Barthel, pianist

#### 1951

    June Kovach, pianist
    Laurel Hurley, soprano
    Joyce Flissler, violinist

#### 1952

    Diana Steiner, violinist
    Yoko Matsuo, violinist
    Lois Marshall, soprano

#### 1953

    Gilda Muhlbauer, violinist
    Lee Cass, bass-baritone
    Georgia Laster, soprano

#### 1954

    William Doppmann, pianist
    Jean Wentworth, pianist
    Jules Eskin, cellist
    Martha Flowers, soprano

#### 1955

    Ronald Leonard, cellist
    Mary MacKenzie, contralto
    Nancy Cirillo, violinist

#### 1956

    Donald McCall, cellist
    Wayne Connor, tenor
    George Katz, pianist

#### 1957

    Regina Sarfaty, mezzo-soprano
    Angelica Lozada, soprano
    Michael Grebanier, cellist

#### 1958

    Joseph Schwartz, pianist
    Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano
    Elaine Lee, violinist

#### 1959

    Howard Aibel, pianist
    Sophia Steffan, soprano
    Ralph Votapek, pianist

#### 1960

    Joseph Silverstein, violinist

#### 1961

    Werner Torkanowsky, conductor

#### 1964

    Elizabeth Mosher, soprano

#### 1968

    Jorge Mester, conductor

#### 1971

    Kun-Woo Paik, pianist
    Zola Shaulis, pianist

#### 1972

    Robert Davidovici, violinist

#### 1973 Voice

    Edmund LeRoy, baritone first prize
    Barbara Hendricks, soprano second prize
    Susan Davenny Wyner, soprano third prize

#### 1974 Piano

    Andre-Michel Schub, first prize
    Edith Kraft, second prize
    Dickran Atamian, third prize

#### 1975–76 (50th Anniversary Competitions)

    Piano: Dickran Atamian, pianist
    Voice: Clamma Dale and Joy Simpson, sopranos (co-winners)
    Violin: Elmar Oliveira, violinist

#### 1977 Cello

    Nathaniel Rosen, first prize
    Thomas Demenga, second prize
    Georg Faust, third prize

#### 1978 Flute

    Carol Wincenc, first prize
    Marya Martin, second prize
    Gary Schocker, third prize

#### 1979 Piano

    Peter Orth, first prize
    Miryo Park, second prize
    Panayis Lyras, third prize

#### 1980 Voice (four winners)

    Faith Esham, soprano
    Irene Gubrud, soprano
    Jan Opalach, bass-baritone
    Lucy Shelton, soprano

#### 1981 Violin

    Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg

#### 1981 Cello

    Colin Carr

#### 1982 Viola

    Thomas Riebl

#### 1983 Piano

    Stephen Hough, first prize
    David Allen Wehr, second prize
    William Wolfram, third prize

#### 1984 Violin (No first prize awarded)

    Carmit Zori, second prize
    Ian Swensen, second prize (co-winners)

#### 1985 Voice

    Dawn Upshaw, soprano, first prize
    Christopher Trakas, baritone, first prize

#### 1985 Clarinet

    Charles Neidich, first prize
    John Grey, second prize
    Daniel McKelway, third prize

#### 1986 Cello

    Andrés Diáz, first prize
    Truls Mørk, second prize
    Peter Wiley, third prize

#### 1987 Piano

    Anton Nel, first prize
    Andrew Wilde, second prize
    William Wolfram, third prize

#### 1988 Violin

    Leonidas Kavakos, first prize
    Peter Winograd, second prize
    Peter Matzka, third prize

#### 1989 Voice

    Stanford Olsen, tenor, first prize
    David Malis, baritone, second prize
    Marietta Simpson, mezzo-soprano, third prize

#### 1990 Cello

    Hai-Ye Ni, first prize
    Gustav Rivinius, second prize
    Marius May, third prize

#### 1991 Viola

    Misha Amory, first prize
    Paul Coletti, second prize
    Roberto Diáz, third prize

#### 1992 Piano

    Awadagin Pratt, first prize
    Mikhail Yanovitsky, second prize
    Alan Gampel, third prize

#### 1993 Violin

    Tomohiro Okumura, first prize
    Yehonatan Berick, second prize
    Michael Shih, third prize

#### 1994 Voice

    Theresa Santiago, soprano, first prize
    Leon Williams, baritone, second prize
    Christópheren Nomura, baritone, third prize

#### 1996 Classical guitar

    Jorge Caballero, first prize
    Jason Vieaux, second prize
    Kevin Gallagher, third prize

#### 1997 Piano

    Steven Osborne, first prize
    Anthony Molinaro, first prize (co-winners)

#### 1998 Violin

    Axel Strauss, first prize
    Jasmine Lin, second prize
    Jennifer Frautschi, third prize

#### 1999 Voice

    Stephen Salters, baritone, first prize
    Randall Scarlata, baritone, second prize
    Hyunah Yu, soprano, third prize

#### 2001 Violoncello

    Clancy Newman, first prize
    Li Wei Qin, first prize (co-winners)

#### 2002 Piano

    Gilles Vonsattel, first prize
    Konstantin Soukhovetski, second prize
    Lev Vincour, third prize

#### 2003 Violin

    Frank Huang, first prize
    Ayano Ninomiya, second prize
    Sharon Roffman, third prize

#### 2005 Voice

    Sari Gruber, first prize
    Thomas Meglioranza, second prize
    Tyler Duncan, third prize
    Amanda Forsythe, honorable mention

#### 2006 Viola

    David Carpenter, first prize
    Eric Nowlin, second prize
    Jonah Sirota, third prize
    David Kim, honorable mention

#### 2008 Cello

    David Requiro and Anita Leuzinger, first prize
    Sébastien Hurtaud, third prize
    Saeunn Thorsteindottir, Zara Nelsova Prize
    Umberto Clerici, honorable mention
    David Eggert, Honorable mention

#### 2010 Piano

    Soyeon Lee, first prize
    Alexandre Moutouzkine, co-second prize
    Ran Dank, co-second prize
    Christopher Guzman, honorable mention

#### 2012 Violin

    Tessa Lark, first prize
    Elly Suh, second prize
    Kristin Lee, third prize

#### 2014 Voice

    Julia Bullock, first prize
    Sidney Outlaw, second prize
    Hyo Na Kim, honorable mention
    Michael Kelly, Honorable mention

#### 2015 Cello

    Lev Sivkov, first prize
    Jay Campbell and Brannon Cho, second prize

#### 2017 Piano

    Albert Cano Smit and Xiaohui Yang, first prize
    Tiffany Poon, second prize

#### 2018 Violin

    Grace Park, first prize
    Shannon Lee, second prize
    Danbi Um, third prize

#### 2021 Voice

    Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano, first prize
    Megan Moore, mezzo-soprano, and William Socolof, bass-baritone, second prize

#### 2022 Saxophone

    Valentin Kovalev and Andreas Mader, first prize
    Robert (Chance) Stine, second prize

#### 2023 Piano

    Yang (Jack) Gao, first prize
    Anna Han, second prize
    Sahun (Sam) Hong, third prize

#### 2024 Cello

    Leland Ko, first prize
    Jonathan Swensen, first prize (co-winners)