Katharina Klement (born in Graz) works as a composer-performer in the fields of composed and improvised, electronic and instrumental music. Her extensive oeuvre includes numerous interdisciplinary projects involving music, text and video. Hardly anyone else explores the possibilities of musical material, from its selection to its manipulation, as extensively as Katharina Klement. Her exemplary willingness to push the boundaries of sound research often testifies to a systematic rigour that precedes the indirect results of her improvisations and compositions, making her an authentic voice in the pursuit of independent art.

Central to the approach of the pianist and ‘ecophonist’ is the blunt inclusion of acoustic and social realities in her work. Nothing is foreign to her, everything is explored. At the centre of her compositional world is reality in its manifold manifestations.

The premiere of her award-winning work will take place at the Wien Modern festival on 22 November 2026, performed by Klangforum Wien.

Jury Statement

Composer, pianist, eco-phonist and sound explorer Katharina Klement, winner of the ERSTE BANK Composition Award 2026, impresses with her fearless, fresh approach to a wide variety of musical and artistic tasks across genres. Central to her approach is the unabashed incorporation of the acoustic and social realities that surround us into her work.

However, Klement's sonic field research does not take place on a farm or in a concrete factory, as in some of her other works, but in her chamber music compositions. Her structural search for sound does not seek the freedom of free improvisation in the composed realm, but rather shifts the search for sound largely to the inner musical realm. This is essential for concert pieces, even if concrete mixers are occasionally on stage, especially for ensembles.

The jury – Gerd Kühr, Christian Scheib, Peter Paul Kainrath

Statement of the Laureate

“When I heard that I had been awarded the prize, I was completely surprised, but soon felt great joy. In addition to recognising my work, it offers me the opportunity and challenge to work with the wonderful musicians of Klangforum Wien again. May our joint journey to new sound spaces be a success! I would like to thank Erste Bank, the jury and Klangforum Wien.”

About Katharina Klement

Katharina Klement (born in Graz in 1963) studied piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Manfred Wagner-Artzt and Ursula Kneihs, as well as composition with Dieter Kaufmann, and completed a course in electroacoustic and experimental music. She is particularly interested in electroacoustic music and the piano as an instrument with extended playing techniques. She is internationally active as a composer-performer and sound artist. She is the founder and member of several ensembles for improvised music.

Composition commissions and collaborations with various ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, ensemble recherche, PHACE, Schallfeld, platypus, Lizard, Studio DAN, Duo Novalis, ovocutters, airborne extended. Concerts and performances, including in Montréal/Festival Nouvelles Musiques, Ljubljana/Festival SO.UND.ING, Dortmund/Festival Blaues Rauschen, St. Petersburg/Festival Acousmonium, Trieste/Festival chaos-teatri del suono, Sao Paolo/BIMESP, Chicago/Festival sexing sounds, Wien Modern, musikprotokoll Graz, Kaleidophon Ulrichsberg. Her works have been released on numerous recordings, including gruenrekorder, Ventil records, chmafu nocords, Austrian grammophone, smallforms.

She has received numerous prizes and awards, including the SKE Publicity Prize 2001, an honourable mention at ars electronica Linz 2006, Austrian State Scholarships for Composition in 2002 and 2011, the Austrian Art Prize in the music category in 2013, the Gustav Mahler Prize 2017, the Music Prize of the City of Vienna 2021, and first prize in the Akusmatik Competition Weimar 2023.

Katharina Klement teaches in the electroacoustic and experimental music programme at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Website: www.katharinaklement.com

Der Erste Bank Composition Award

The Erste Bank Composition Award has established itself as one of the most prestigious awards in the field of contemporary music. Since 1989, Erste Bank has awarded an annual composition award in recognition of outstanding composers representing a variety of aesthetic positions. The Erste Bank Composition Award is linked to at least three performances by Klangforum Wien. The world premiere usually takes place as part of the Wien Modern festival. In addition, the Erste Bank Composition Award enables the new work and a portrait to be published on a contemporary recording medium. The winners are selected by a jury consisting of Gerd Kühr (composer), Christian Scheib (ORF, musikprotokoll) and Peter Paul Kainrath (artistic director of Klangforum Wien).