The Konzertexamen (Concert exam) is the highest postgraduate degree to be awarded to singers or instrumentalists at the HfMDK Frankfurt. The course of study can be completed after graduation with a diploma examination, a master's examination or an equivalent examination in the following subjects:
- Subject group A: Recorder, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, percussion
- Group B: Singing
- Section C: Guitar, Lute
- Subject group D: Historical instruments (strings, winds and fortepiano)
- Section E: Strings (violin, viola, violoncello, double bass and string chamber music)
- Subject group F: Keyboard instruments (piano, harpsichord, organ and piano chamber music from duo (piano and at least one melody instrument))
The course of study consists primarily of individual lessons in the major subject.
Students of orchestral instruments may be called upon to participate in the university orchestra and chamber music as needed.
*You will receive details of your aptitude test dates with your invitation approx. 3 to 4 weeks before your aptitude test appointment.
Completion of a course of study by means of a diploma examination, a master's examination or an equivalent examination with the same main subject.
Successful two-stage admission examination in the form of a preliminary examination and a main examination; those who pass the preliminary examination are admitted to the main examination.
The preliminary examination is not required if an examination board of the HfMDK has granted admission to the main examination within the framework of a diploma examination or master's examination at the applicant's request.
- current passport photo (the following formats are accepted: GIF, JPEG, JPG or PNG)
- Complete and up-to-date curriculum vitae in tabular form (up to the year of application)
- School leaving certificate (if not yet available, the last school certificate is sufficient for the time being), in case of foreign certificates a certified translation in German or English is required*
- If applying for a Master's degree: Bachelor's certificate or equivalent, "Transcript of Records", if applying for a concert exam: Master's certificate or equivalent, "Transcript of Records "*
- For applicants from the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, certificate of the Academic Evaluation Service (APS) (PR China // Vietnam)
- Proof of language skills according to the requirements of the degree programmes (see below, Language certificates)
- Please note that you have to submit additional documents in the different study programmes. Please inform yourself about this on the website of the respective study program for which you are applying under "aptitude test". Among other things, letter of motivation, assignments, phoniatric report (voice)...
*If you do not have all final certificates at the time of application, please submit the most recent certificates and supporting documents in advance. Submit the final documents without being asked and in good time before the start of your studies. If you have any questions, please contact us immediately.
Please fill out the online application completely and upload all requested documents. After you have submitted your online application with a final mouse click, you will receive an email from us confirming the receipt of your application.
After the application deadline, you will receive an invoice from us for an administrative fee of 50 Euro. Please transfer the fee to the account of the HfMDK stating your invoice number and name within the mentioned payment deadline. Only when the administrative fee has been credited to the university's account is your application complete and can be processed.
The application fee is charged per applicant. If you apply for two courses or subjects, no further fee is due. The fee will be due again if you reapply at a later date (new round of applications).
A refund of the application fee is excluded - this also applies if the application is withdrawn.
Here you will find a list of required German language skills for all degree programs. Please check which of these requirements apply to your degree program.
In some subjects there is a digital video preliminary round in the qualifying examination. Below you will first find the requirements in the digital preliminary round for the instruments concerned and, under the individual subject groups below, the instrument-specific requirements for the presence aptitude test.
Technical requirements for all instruments concerned
Please make every effort to produce good sound and image quality within your means. However, it is not necessary to produce a professional studio recording. You are free in your choice of recording equipment.
They must remain visible in the picture during the performance and be clearly identifiable. Within the works (single movements in the case of cyclical works such as sonatas or suites), no image or sound recordings are permitted. Video recordings that have already been produced on another occasion are also accepted; settings from different cameras are also permitted.
Recordings must not be older than 6 months.
Please upload your videos to a streaming platform of your choice (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Clouds, etc.). The videos must be accessible without a password and streamable without downloading the file.
Please create one video file per work (e.g. a sonata, suite, aria). You can provide up to 6 links.
3 pieces from 3 stylistic periods. Single movements are enough.
The complete program (see homepage) is not required in digital form. Submit at least two different sets with one take per set.
The program to be submitted includes
- one etude of your choice.
- additionally three solo works from at least three different epochs (complete works or representative excerpts of at least 10 minutes each).
Duration of the video: approx. 30-35 minutes
2 works (also single movements) from 2 different epochs.
Duration 7-10 min
A 20 minute recording that should include one classical, one romantic and one virtuoso work each.
Four complete works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Classical Modern eras. The program should preferably include the different genres of violin concerto, solo work and sonata.
Total duration: at least 45 minutes
Excerpts from at least 4 different works with a total playing time of 20 minutes max
Please record at least ten minutes from your prepared entrance examination repertoire for an application video. Each of the works from the three epochs should be represented; you can determine the excerpts (e.g. individual movements or form parts) yourself. Of course, sight-reading is not required.
The three pieces do not have to be recorded in one take, but they should come from the same recording situation (i.e. no recordings from different concerts) and be uncut.
Subject group B: Singing
Aptitude Test Concert Examination Voice
A digital preselection according to §11 EPO is planned for the qualifying examination voice 2022. This preselection will be carried out unchanged in terms of content on the basis of the fully submitted program. If the digital pre-selection is passed, the invitation to the preliminary round (15 min) in presence follows; if this is also passed, the main round (20 min) follows.
Singing - focus on opera
The program to be submitted
o A demanding program of approx. 60 minutes length is to be submitted, consisting mainly of opera arias and scenes, but also oratorio and concert repertoire/song
o The repertoire must cover at least 3 eras, including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School
o The repertoire must be sung in the original language and in at least 2 other languages besides German.
For the digital pre-selection, the following requirements of the program to be submitted must be provided in the form of videos/links
o Selection of 5 pieces of different styles and at least in two languages from the program to be submitted, of which
o 3 arias (including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School. (This refers to works composed after 1908 by the Second Viennese School and its followers, which are composed in a freitonal or dodecaphonic style. In this sense, works composed before 1970 by Messiaen, Dallapiccola, etc. are also permissible). and
o 2 songs
o All songs and opera arias must be performed from memory. Oratorio arias may be performed with sheet music.
A short self-introduction (short video) of 1-2 minutes would be desirable.
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Notes on the videos of the digital preselection
Please make every effort to ensure good sound and image quality within your means. However, it is not necessary to produce a professional studio recording. You are free in your choice of recording equipment. They must remain visible in the picture during the performance and be clearly identifiable. Within the works (single movements in the case of cyclical works such as sonatas or suites), no image or sound recordings are permitted.
Video recordings that have already been produced on another occasion are also accepted; settings from different cameras are also permitted.
The recordings must not be older than 6 months. Please upload your videos to a streaming platform of your choice (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Clouds, etc.). The videos must be accessible without a password and must be able to be streamed without downloading the file.
Uploaded or linked recordings of examination programs that do not comply with the above and subject-specific requirements will not be considered by the examination board and will result in exclusion from the qualifying examination procedure.
Subject group B: Singing
Aptitude Test Concert Examination Voice
A digital preselection according to §11 EPO is planned for the qualifying examination voice 2022. This preselection will be carried out unchanged in terms of content on the basis of the fully submitted program. If the digital preselection is passed, the invitation to the preliminary round (15 min) in presence follows; if this is also passed, the main round (20 min) follows.
Konzertexamen Gesang - focus on Lied/ Oratorio:
The program to be submitted
o A demanding program of approximately 60 minutes is to be submitted. The repertoire should be chosen mainly from the areas of oratorio and lied and should contain approx. 1/3 oratorio and 2/3 lied in the weighting. The repertoire may also include a maximum of two arias from the opera repertoire
o The works submitted must cover at least 3 periods, including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School, as well as one or more works by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart or J. Haydn
o The repertoire must be sung in the original language and in at least 2 other languages besides German
o All songs and opera arias must be performed from memory.
For the digital preselection, the following requirements of the program to be submitted are to be provided in the form of videos/links
o Selection of 5 pieces of different styles and at least in two languages from the program to be submitted, of which
o 3 arias (including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School. (This refers to works composed after 1908 by the Second Viennese School and its followers, which are composed in a freitonal or dodecaphonic style. In this sense, works composed before 1970 by Messiaen, Dallapiccola, etc. are also permitted) and
o 2 songs
o All songs and opera arias must be performed from memory. Oratorio arias may be performed with sheet music.
A short self-introduction (short video) of 1-2 minutes would be desirable.
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Notes on the videos of the digital preselection
Please make every effort to ensure good sound and image quality within your means. However, it is not necessary to produce a professional studio recording. You are free in your choice of recording equipment. They must remain visible in the picture during the performance and be clearly identifiable. Within the works (single movements in the case of cyclical works such as sonatas or suites), no image or sound recordings are permitted.
Video recordings that have already been produced on another occasion are also accepted; settings from different cameras are also permitted.
The recordings must not be older than 6 months. Please upload your videos to a streaming platform of your choice (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Clouds, etc.). The videos must be accessible without a password and must be able to be streamed without downloading the file.
Uploaded or linked recordings of examination programs that do not comply with the above and subject-specific requirements will not be considered by the examination board and will result in exclusion from the qualifying examination procedure.
When registering for the examination, the applicant submits an appropriate program for the respective instrument according to the specifications below, which are differentiated by subject group. If the prepared program does not comply with the specifications below, participation in the qualifying examination is not possible. In the case of a repetition of the qualifying examination, works that have already been performed in the first examination may not be stated again.
Recorder, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp
At least six works of high difficulty, taking into account the stylistic periods of Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern. (In the case of recorder, 17th/18th century works of different styles as well as 20th/21st century). Among them there must be at least one concerto and one solo work. One of the works may be a chamber music work representative of the instrument in larger instrumentation. The playing time of the submitted works must be at least 100 minutes for woodwinds, at least 80 minutes for brass, and at least 60 minutes for harp.
Percussion
One timpani concerto from conventional or modern literature and one percussion concerto from conventional or modern literature and four heavy orchestral pieces each from opera and concert literature for a) timpani, b) glockenspiel, c) xylophone, and d) vibraphone.
Focus on opera
- A demanding program of approx. 60 minutes in length consisting mainly of opera arias and scenes, but also oratorio and concert repertoire/song must be submitted
- The repertoire must cover at least 3 eras, including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School.
- The repertoire must be sung in the original language and in at least 2 other languages besides German.
Focus on Lied/ Oratorio
- A demanding program of approx. 60 minutes is to be submitted. The repertoire should be chosen mainly from the areas of oratorio and song and should contain in the weighting approx. 1/3 oratorio and 2/3 song. The repertoire may also include a maximum of two arias from the opera repertoire.
- The works submitted must cover at least 3 periods, including at least one composition after 1970 or from the Second Viennese School, and one or more works by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart or J. Haydn.
- The repertoire must be sung in the original language and in at least 2 other languages besides German.
- All songs and opera arias must be performed from memory.
Guitar
- Works of the 16th/17th century (e.g. by Milan, Dowland, de Visée)
- One major work by Bach
- One major work of guitar classical music (e.g. by Sor, Giuliani, Aguado)
- An etude by H. Villa-Lobos
- One major contemporary work (e.g. "Tento" or "Royal Winter Musik" by H.W. Henze, "Nocturnal" op. 70 by B. Britten)
Among the pieces to be submitted there can also be a chamber music work, if the guitar part is dominant (e.g. "Sonata concertata" for guitar and violin by N. Paganini)
Lute
Program of 80 minutes duration with demanding works of the 16th to 18th centuries from different stylistic areas, including music from England, France, Germany. In each case, a demanding work by J.S. Bach must be included.
Program of 80 minutes duration with demanding works from the epochs and style ranges relevant for the respective instrument.
Violin
At least six works of high difficulty, taking into account the stylistic periods of Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Classical Modern, and one work composed after 1950. Among them must be at least one concerto and one solo work. One of the works may be a chamber music work in larger instrumentation representative of the instrument. The playing time of the submitted works must be at least 100 minutes.
Viola, violoncello, double bass
At least six works of a high degree of difficulty, taking into account the stylistic periods Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern. Among them must be at least one concerto and one solo work. One of the works may be a chamber music work representative of the instrument in larger instrumentation. The playing time of the submitted works must be at least 100 minutes, 80 minutes for double bass.
Chamber music for strings
1. Two works of the classical period
2. Two works of the Romantic period
3. One work from Impressionism, Classical Modernism or the Second Viennese School
4. Two works after 1950 The playing time of the submitted works must be at least 100 minutes.
Piano
1. At least one prelude and fugue (WTK) by Bach and one other major baroque work (instead of the baroque work, two other preludes and fugues (WTK) or, for example, some Scarlatti sonatas may be substituted),
2. a classical sonata,
3. a romantic work,
4. a work from Impressionism or Classical Modernism or the Second Viennese School,
5. a work after 1950,
6. two etudes (at least one by Chopin).
Harpsichord
Program of 90 minutes duration with demanding works of the 17th and 18th centuries and possibly of the 20th and 21st centuries from different stylistic areas, including music from England, France, Germany. In any case, a demanding multi-movement work by J.S. Bach must be included.
Organ
1. Two demanding works from the time before J.S. Bach
2. three larger works by Bach, including a trio sonata
3. two difficult works from the Romantic period, including a work by Max Reger
4. two demanding modern works
Piano chamber music
1. Two works of the classical period
2. Two works from the Romantic period
3. One work from Impressionism, Classical Modernism or the Second Viennese School
4. Two works after 1950 The playing time of the submitted works must be at least 100 minutes.
Preliminary examination
The duration of the pure performance time in the preliminary examination is for instruments of the subject group
A: 20 minutes
B: 15 minutes
C: 20 minutes
D: 15 minutes
E: 10 minutes
F: 15 minutes
For the preliminary examination, the examination board selects a performance sequence of works and/or parts of works at the beginning of and during the examination from the program submitted with the application for admission.
Main examination
The main examination is only held if the preliminary examination is passed. The duration of the pure performance time in the main examination is 20 minutes in each case. For the main examination, the examination board selects a sequence of works and/or parts of works from the program submitted with the application for admission. The examination board may allow a change of the works indicated by the candidate for objective reasons until the beginning of the examination.
[Nicht-amtliche Lesefassung. Stand: 18.12.2023]
The Study and Examination Regulations (SPO) set out the framework conditions and regulations for your studies. They apply together with the General Regulations (for Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes) or the SPoL (for teacher training degree programmes). All versions of the SPO for your degree programme (including earlier versions for students of previous academic years) can be found at Examinations.