European Composition Award
A fundamental part of the festival since its beginning has been the promotion of contemporary and, above all, young composers, who consistently bring topical themes and musical influences from their home countries to Young Euro Classic through their works.
One of the special highlights of Young Euro Classic is the presentation of the European Composition Award. Presented by the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, this was the 27th time that the best premiere or German premiere at the festival has been honoured.
The winner of the 2026 European Composition Award
This year, the European Composition Award went to César Rafael from Portugal for his work “Saudades, só portugueses”, which had its world premiere at Young Euro Classic by the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa on August 7.
In its statement, the jury wrote:
“Thanks to sonic inventiveness and a high density of strong contrasts and elements of surprise, the piece remained entertaining and never lost the tension, while the consequent treatment of the musical material and the masterly treatment of the orchestra left no doubt about the focus.”
Thus, César Rafael won the European Composition Award, presented by the Mayor of Berlin and with a cash award of 5,000 Euros. The decision of the jury was announced by the Secretary of State for Education and Families, Falko Liecke, during the final concert of Young Euro Classic.
Congratulations, César Rafael!
The Composition Prize was presented on 16 August 2026 at the beginning of the second half of the Young Euro Classic closing concert, featuring the AYSO – Accademia Youth Symphony Orchestra and presented by Mr. Falko Liecke, State Secretary for Youth and Family.
This year, 15 premieres and German premieres were performed throughout the festival. The decision on who received the prize was made by a ten-member jury of volunteers. Composer and musician Michael Essl chaired the audience jury for the European Composition Prize 2026.
These works were in competition for the European Composition Award 2026
Michael Essl (b. 1991 in Stuttgart) is a composer based in Berlin. His oeuvre includes orchestral works, operas, chamber music, choral and solo pieces as well as works for jazz formations and silent films. From 20024 to 2024, he was composer in residence at the Dortmund Young Opera, where he wrote a children’s opera based on Marc-Uwe Kling’s Das NEINhorn. He has worked with orchestras such as the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Berlin’s Komische Oper and the German Radio Philharmonic. His works are regularly performed in Germany, the USA, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Michael Essl is also an experienced arranger who has received commissions from ARTE, the Cinémathèque française and the Komische Oper Berlin. He originally studied jazz piano performance in Stuttgart and Boston and then composition and music theory with Andrew List, Hanspeter Kyburz, Veli-Matti Puumala and Jörg Mainka in Boston, Berlin and Helsinki.
Previous winners
Since the festival was founded, 38 works have been honoured with the European Composition Award.
In 2025, the work "galvanic dances" by the Scottish composer Jay Capperauld received the European Composition Award.