Salzburger Stier: Award winners Markus Schönholzer, Sonja Pikart, Bodo Wartke

Bodo Wartke (Germany) – German prize winner:
Rhyming culture with brains, heart, and humor. Did Antigone visit Barbara's rhubarb bar? Were there false horses in the ark? We don't know – but in Bodo Wartke's cosmos, anything is possible. He has recently devoted himself to tongue twisters, publishing over 50 of them to date. His rhyming extravaganza “Barbaras Rhabarberbar” has long since become a cult hit around the globe, and in 2025 he even published a book full of twisted verbal acrobatics. An artist who proves that linguistic wit can resonate with both the head and the heart.

Sonja Pikart (A) - Austrian award winner:
Born in Germany and now living in Vienna, Sonja Pikart is many things: actress, cabaret artist, biologist in a former life – and above all, a keen observer of human (and inhuman) idiosyncrasies. Her current solo show “Halb Mensch” (Half Human) takes the audience into a future where AI has taken over the world. Dystopia meets disco, science fiction meets self-irony. Pikart asks the big questions: What makes us human? Are we replaceable – or are we unique precisely because of our imperfections? She always remains charming, quick-witted, and damn funny.

Markus Schönholzer (CH) - Swiss prize winner:
Markus Schönholzer sums up life in a nutshell – intelligently, humorously, and deeply movingly. In his current program, “Die Schönholzers,” he sings about motherly love, fatherly expectations, and the little tragicomedy of everyday life. His songs are moving without being sentimental; they are clever and full of silliness, exaggerated and over-the-top, yet so close to everyday life.