Arne Zeller receives Hans Gál Soloist Prize 2026

The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz has awarded this year’s Hans Gál Soloist Prize to cellist Arne Zeller. The prize supports outstanding young musicians at the start of their careers and recognises artistic excellence as well as exceptional potential for development.

Jury Statement (excerpt)
“Arne Zeller’s performances are characterised by a rare combination of technical mastery, tonal nuance and a deeply felt musical creativity. With great sensitivity to structure and expression, he produces a sound of particular warmth and presence. The jury commends not only this young musician’s impressive instrumental mastery, but above all the artistic personality revealed in his playing. The combination of musical intelligence, depth of expression and inspiring stage presence reveals an extraordinary talent who brings the cello to life with an unmistakable voice.”

Award Ceremony with Concert
The formal presentation of the Hans Gál Soloist Prize to Arne Zeller will take place on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, at 7.00 pm in the Kalkhof-Rose Hall at the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz. The award ceremony will be accompanied by a concert given by the prize-winner.

Arne Zeller (born 2006) made his debut as a soloist at the age of 13 and, from the age of 14, was a young student at the University of Music in Leipzig. This was followed by solo performances with, amongst others, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the hr-Orchester (school tour), the Kremerata Baltica, the Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the Budapest National Philharmonic. He has been studying at the Kronberg Academy since October 2024.
His most recent awards include first prize at the 2024 International Pablo Casals Award for Young Cellists, as well as first prize and the audience prize at the 2025 Budapest International Cello Competition. He is also a multiple first-prize winner at the national level and a special prize winner of the ‘Jugend musiziert’ competition. Zeller is, among other things, a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation, the German Music Foundation and the Liechtenstein Academy of Music. From April 2026, he will be admitted as a member of the Junge Akademie | Mainz.

Hans Gál Soloist Prize
The Hans Gál Soloist Prize is intended to support outstanding young musicians at the start of their careers and comes with a prize of 5,000 euros. It has been awarded since 2025 and is made possible by the Hans Gál Foundation. Together with the Hans Gál Ensemble Prize, it commemorates the composer, musicologist and music teacher Hans Gál (1890–1987), who was director of the Mainz Conservatoire from 1929 to 1933.
Following the National Socialists’ seizure of power, Hans Gál, who was of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was forced to leave Germany. Until the ‘Anschluss’ of Austria, the family lived in Vienna under difficult circumstances and emigrated to Britain in 1938. In 1945, Hans Gál became a British citizen and taught at the University of Edinburgh until 1955. As a composer, he left behind an extensive body of work in the tradition of Johannes Brahms and the turn-of-the-century Vienna.