Violinist Benjamin Frueh and double bassist Pietro Elia Barcellona each receive CHF10,000 and funded participation in the Lucerne Festival Academy
The Fritz Gerber Foundation and the Lucerne Festival have conferred the 2026 Fritz Gerber Award on US–Swiss violinist Benjamin Frueh, Italian double bassist Pietro Elia Barcellona and Portuguese percussionist Bárbara Ribeiro. They each receive CHF10,000 (£9,500), as well as funded participation in the 2026 Lucerne Festival Academy, valued at a further CHF10,000.
The award is aimed at young musicians in the contemporary music field that either have Swiss citizenship or have lived in Switzerland for at least three years. This year’s jury comprised Sebastian Nordmann, Mark Sattler and Jack Adler-McKean.
Born in 2005, Benjamin Frueh is currently studying with Samantha George at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI, US. He has performed with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and closely collaborates with his brother, pianist Kai Frueh, with whom he has released an album comprising works written specifically for them. Frueh is currently recording clarinet trios together with clarinettist Isabelle Olsen and pianist Isaac Epley.
Born in 1997, Pietro Elia Barcellona is a performer, composer and improviser specialising in contemporary music, having studied in both Amsterdam and Basel. He has collaborated with composers including Helmut Lachenmann and Beat Furrer and has appeared at festivals including Gaudeamus Muziekweek and ManiFeste. He received the 2025 Kranichstein Music Prize at the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music and regularly performs with ensembles including the Collegium Novum Zürich and Asko|Schönberg.
‘It makes us proud that each year three young musicians have the opportunity to take part in the Lucerne Festival Academy through the Fritz Gerber Award,’ said Lucerne Festival director Sebastian Nordmann. ‘Like Lucerne Festival, the Fritz Gerber Foundation invests in a new generation of highly accomplished artists committed to the music of today.
‘All three prizewinners impressed us with their artistic excellence, their understanding of contemporary music, and their stage presence.’
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