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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.
 

4th Place

5th Place

6th Place

7th Place

8th Place

9th Place

10th Place

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.

New Checklists

The members only section of our website contains a collection of checklists about various topics of music philately. The collection is constantly expanding and can be read online by our members.
 


New enhancements:
4.2.25: Theaters, Opera Houses, Concert Halls (updated)
2.3.25: Postal Stationery of Ukraine (new)
4.5.25: Frederic Chopin (new)
31.5.25: Faust (new)
15.1.26: Postal Stationery of Bulgaria (updated)
23.4.26: Female Dancers (updated)
14.6.26: Verdi (updated)
5.7.26: Aida (updated)
7.7.26: Male Dancers (updated) / Ballroom Dance (updated)
6.8.26: Postal Stationery of Romania – Covers (updated)
 

Go to the checklists (members only)  Checklists Postal Stationery (members only)

New articles in our Library

The library of our study group contains an extensive collection of philatelic magazine articles from all areas of music philately. These articles can be read online by our members.
 

The new articles deal with the following topics, among others:
Carl Maria von Weber / Marilyn Monroe / Engelbert Humperdinck / Friedrich Cerha / Udo Lindenberg / German Rock Classics / Eurovision Song Contest / Finlandia Hall / Burgtheater in Vienna / The Timpany / Bayreuth Festival / “The New German Wave” / Indian Music in Philately / The Meistersinger Stamp of 1968

 

Go to the archive (members only)
 

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

It took a while, but as a successor event to the Essen Stamp Fair, an International Stamp Fair is scheduled to 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.

The new “Musikus” has been issued

Our newsletter “Der Musikus” No. 167 has been released.
This time, the featured article focuses on the Sanremo Festival, which took place for the 75th time this year.
 
In addition to numerous articles on composers, performers, musical instruments, and music venues, there is — as always — an extensive list of new stamp issues.
Take a look at the table of contents or read the fascinating article about an East German (GDR) charity stamp that also served as postage. Members of the “Motivgruppe Musik” (Music Thematic Group) can read the entire issue online in the members’ area.
 
GDR donation stamps with postage validity
 
Table of contents  “Der Musikus” – Archive (members only)

General Meeting 2026 in Meiningen


Our 2026 get-together will take place

from March 27 to 29 in Meiningen (Thuringia).

 

The program includes the general meeting with the election of a new board, a small stamp exhibition on the theme of “Theater”, a visit to the Meiningen Theater Museum, and a concert by students of the Max Reger Conservatory in Meiningen.

 


Backdrop at the Meiningen Theater Museum

Get-together 2025 in Ulm


Our get-together will take place as part of

the International Stamp Fair

from October 23rd to 25th in Ulm.

 

Visit us at our information booth

Hall 2 / Booth A 30.

 

On Friday afternoon (October 24th), members of Motivgruppe Musik will enjoy a guided city tour with the Ulm Town Musician. On Saturday morning (October 25th), interested members and visitors can receive an introduction to the music exhibits on display.

Yehudi Menuhin Trophy 2025 – Most popular Music Stamp 2024

The winning Stamp: Sweden
designed by Eva Wilsson

On April 6, 1974, the Swedish pop group ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo.” This success also marked the beginning of ABBA’s international career, which significantly shaped the music market of the 1970s, which had previously been dominated by American and British Bands. The continued impact of ABBAMANIA on the younger generation of that time is demonstrated by the fact that the stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s success was voted the most popular music stamp of 2024. The stamp, issued by Postnord in Sweden on April 6, 2024, receiving 7.33% of the votes from stamp collectors around the world. The stamp was designed by Swedish designer Eva Wilsson, who will be awarded the 2025 Yehudi Menuhin Trophy.
Eva Wilsson grew up in Stockholm. She studied design at the Swedish art school Konstfack and the London College of Printing. She gained professional experience in London (art books and fashion photography) and Amsterdam (visual identity). In 2008, she founded her own label, “Design Eva Wilsson”, and in 2019 opened a gallery for typography and design in Stockholm with rooms for exhibitions, workshops, and evenings with typography and music quizzes. Eva Wilsson teaches history of typography and graphic design and has also worked for the stamp department of the Swedish Post and for Postnord since 2009, for which she has designed more than 100 stamps.

      

This year, stamps from 66 postal administrations were up for selection. Collectors from 46 countries participated in the online voting. The Spanish stamp “The Cellist of Fene”, issued on November 5, 2024, took second place with 6.41 % of the votes. The stamp honours the mural by graffiti artist Sfhir, who won first prize at the Perla Mural Festival in 2023. Third place, with 6.09 % of the votes, went to the Norwegian stamp “Bodø – European Capital of Culture 2024”, designed by photographer and designer Kristin Slotterøy.
 
4th Place
5th Place
6th Place
7th Place
8th Place
9th Place
 
10th Place
 

Here you can find all candidates for the most popular music stamp 2024
Here you can find all previous winners of the Yehudi Menuhin Trophy

New in our Library

Karl-Heinz Büdding has scanned the 2022 and 2023 issues of the Italian newsletter “Il Podio” for our library and Wolfgang Andrée has updated the table of content.
Thank you very much !
The issues can be downloaded as PDF files in the members’ area.
 
“Il Podio” in our library (members only)