The Albanese Spanish-Dutch trio of Javier Ramex (piano), Luis Maria Suarez (violin) and Paula Briswill (cello) have won the 21st International Kiejstut Bacewicz Competition in ód. More than 70 bands from 20 countries have performed.

The jury announced the winners of the competition organized by the Academy of Music in Lodz on Sunday, after six days of auditions. It is the oldest competition in Poland dedicated to the performance of chamber music; It has been held in ód since 1961.

Alexandra Poppin, press spokeswoman for the University of Lodz, told PAP that the first prize winners are pleased with the interpretations of the trio in flat E No. 2 D. 929 by Franz Schubert in the first stage of the competition and a trio in a mini-film by Maurice Ravel in the second stage. .

The Spanish-Dutch trio of Albanese have been performing in Europe and the United States since 2017. They have performed in Poland for the first time, but not the last. In the competition Kiejstut Bacewicz, apart from the first prize (8000 PLN per group member), they also won an additional prize in the form of a concert financed by the ód Orchestra. Arthur Rubinstein.

Polish musicians won other competition titles. The second prize was won by violinist and pianist, consisting of: Marcin Koziak (piano), Marta Jedaszyuska and Robert Aguniak (violin). This trio also received an additional legal award – a concert for the best Polish band funded by the Ars Iuventutis Foundation.

Two-thirds of the award was also awarded by virtue of equity. Their awardees are: Optimistic piano trio Mateusz Krzyowski (piano), Adam Suska (violin) and Maria Liszynica Theo (cello), and Kabaltomie Duet, composed by Tomasz Piazynicki-Pirola (piano) and Alija Olczak (clarinet). Also honored were the winners of this distinction – Rosalia Kirk and Maria Moleszowska of Romarie Piano Duo as well as an award in the form of a concert with the Radom Chamber Orchestra and an award for best performance of a Polish piece. Another Gar for Best Polish Music Performance went to a duet played by pianist Bwe Bubko and clarinetist Piotr Theo Kwang.

“The music won and this is the greatest result you can hope for in a music competition” – summed up the six days of auditions, juror and competition director and head of the Chamber Conservatory at the Lodz Academy, Dr. Love. Michael Drewonovsky.

Chairman of the jury Łukasz Błaszczyk added that Sunday’s concert for the winners was confirmation of the verdict. “All the performers presented themselves as mature artists, musicians worthy of being awarded the Kiejstut Bacewicz Competition, because our competition is an important chapter in the history of chamber music, which is confirmed by the list of winners of previous sessions” – he noted .

In the first stage, the jury evaluated the participants into two categories: separate musical and lyrical duets, and in the second category, trio, quartet and quintet. In the second stage, the teams were ranked together. The competition was open to teams whose average age at the start of the event was no more than 30 years old.

Artists from 20 countries came to ód Academy of Music, incl. From Japan, South Korea, China, USA, Brazil, Greece, France, Spain, Netherlands, Ukraine, UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy.

The event was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Italian Cultural Institute in Warsaw and the Union of Artists and Performers Stuart. (PAP)

Author: Bartłomiej Pawlak

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