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Stamp of the Month: October 2026

100 Years of the Latvian Symphony Orchestra

Latvia 14.02.2026

I am revisiting an issue from February. This year, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra celebrates its centenary — a century marked by artistic achievements and professional growth. The orchestra is regarded as a symbol of national culture: it not only offers Latvian society the opportunity to experience the world’s most significant symphonic repertoire but also shares Latvia’s musical heritage and values with an international audience. Latvias Post takes great pride in its philatelic products. In this case, the design is unsurpassed in its simplicity at first glance. It represents a sonic logo by composer Edgar Mäken.

Yehudi Menuhin Trophy 2026 – Most popular Music Stamp 2025

The Winning Stamp: Austria
Designed by Kirsten Lubach

Stamp issues marking significant anniversaries of famous figures from the worlds of culture, science, and politics have long been highly popular among postal authorities and collectors alike. Against this backdrop, it comes as no surprise that the stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the “Waltz King,” Johann Strauss, was voted the most popular music-themed stamp of 2025 by collectors worldwide, garnering 6.07% of the vote. Issued by Austrian Post on January 18, 2025, the stamp combines the figure from the Johann Strauss monument in Vienna’s Stadtpark with a detail from the title page of the first edition of the piano score for the waltz “The Blue Danube” (*An der schönen blauen Donau*), published by C.A. Spina in Vienna in 1867. The stamp was designed by Viennese artist Kirsten Lubach, who is being honored with the 2026 Yehudi Menuhin Trophy for her work.

Born in Troisdorf in 1973, Kirsten Lubach trained as an engraver at the Zeichenakademie in Hanau. She subsequently pursued further studies in Lahti, Finland, on a scholarship and qualified as a master engraver there in 1999. After working for a specialiced firm for several years, she moved to the Austrian State Printing Office in 2003, where she was initially responsible for correcting and retouching printing plates. The first stamp she engraved — part of the “Wildlife of Austria” series — was released in 2006. In 2012, Lubach became self-employed, opening her own copperplate engraving and printing studio in Vienna. Over the years, she has designed numerous stamps for various postal authorities and already received the Yehudi Menuhin Trophy in 2023 for the “Trombone” stamp — part of the “Musical Austria” series — which was voted the most popular music-themed stamp of 2022.

With 4.59% of the vote, the Christmas stamp “The Pixies’ Christmas” from the Faroe Islands — issued on October 20, 2025 — took second place. The stamp was designed by Janus á Húsagarði, a Faroese photographer and visual artist based in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland.
Taking third place with 4.43% of the vote was the German stamp “Semper Opera House” from the “Historic Buildings in Germany” series; for its design, graphic artist Jan-Niklas Kröger — part of Deutsche Post’s graphic design team — utilized the AI image generator DALL·E.
It is fascinating to observe the diverse graphic approaches taken with these three stamps: ranging from collage and poetic, fairy-tale-style illustration to the use of artificial intelligence — though one hopes that postal authorities will not succumb to the temptation of replacing the craftsmanship of graphic artists with AI.
Once again, stamps from 66 postal authorities were in the running for the title of “Most Popular Music Stamp of 2025” and collectors from 36 countries participated in the online vote.

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Here you will find all the candidates for the election of the most popular music stamp of 2025.
Here you will find all previous winners of the Yehudi Menuhin Trophy.

Please Save the Date: New Stamp Fair in Mülheim an der Ruhr, 2027

As a successor event to the Essen Stamp Fair, an International Stamp Fair will take place in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, from May 21 to 22, 2027. Please save the date; we are planning to host an information stand for the Motivgruppe Musik. Further details will follow.

8 … 9 … 10 … ready !

There are so many topics and stories hidden in our stamp albums that never come to the public eye …
… because there is too little material to create an exhibit,
… because far too many collectors shy away from the effort of assembling an exhibit or
… because collectors don’t want to accept the strict rules of a jury.

We’ll put an end to that and show, …
… that you can tell a story with just 10 stamps.
… that no great effort is required to do this and
… that you can show what’s in our albums even without rules!

And the best thing about it: it’s fun and you really want more!
Join in … 8 … 9 … 10 … ready!
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