Baritone George Clark and fortepianist Rachel Doubijanski have been awarded first prize at the inaugural International Fanny Hensel Competition.

The competition is the world’s first and only competition dedicated exclusively to the Lied duo repertoire with fortepiano. The final rounds took place on April 25, 2026 at Weißenbrunn Castle in Franconia, Germany.

Clark, from the United Kingdom, and Doubijanski, based in Germany, were selected from a field of 49 duos representing four continents. Eight finalists performed in two concerts before a jury comprising Olga Pashchenko, Dmitry Ablogin, Jan Kobow, and Artistic Director Pia Praetorius.

Each duo drew from ten prepared works — eight by Fanny Hensel and two by her brother Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy — performed on one of three original 19th-century fortepianos from the castle’s collection: instruments by Brodmann (1827), Graf (1824), and Pleyel (1836).

Second prize went to Italian soprano Benedetta Zanotto and pianist Axel Trolese, while third prize was awarded to Duo Convivium (soprano Lucia Boisserée and Tung-Han Hu) representing Germany and Taiwan.

Two audience prizes were also awarded. The on-site voting prize went to German duo Johannes Arzt and David Höppner, and the online audience prize was awarded to Duo Verheij & Sorotokin, representing the Netherlands and the United States.

Additional prizes included concert invitations to the Mendelssohn-Remise Berlin, Bad Krozingen Castle, Seehaus Castle, and Weißenbrunn Castle itself, as well as a special prize from music publisher Henle Verlag, awarded to Austrian duo Mitterbauer | Spring.

Prize values ran from €8,500 for first place down to €3,000 for third, with audience prizes of €1,000 and €500.