This evening, Competition director Barry Shiffman announced that the Afiara String Quartet (Canada), the Cecilia String Quartet (Canada), and the Quatuor Zaide (France) have been chosen as finalists in the 2010 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) at The Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. After five days of juried concerts focused on classical, Romantic, and 20th-century repertoire, the finalists were chosen from a group of the world’s most accomplished young string quartets.
On Sunday, September 5 at 2 p.m., these three quartets will go into a final round of performance before a full house in The Banff Centre’s Eric Harvie Theatre. Each will present a recital of music of their choice:
Afiara String Quartet – Quartet No. 3, Bartok; Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1, Beethoven
Cecilia String Quartet – Quartet in G Major, Op. 106, No. 13, Dvorak
Quatuor Zaide – Quartet in C minor, D. 703, Quartett-Satz, Schubert; Quartet in F Major, Ravel
First prize includes $25,000, a quartet of bows made by Canadian bow-maker François Malo, North American and European concert tours, and the offer of a residency at The Banff Centre including the recording of a compact disc engineered and recorded by the Centre’s Audio department. The second prize award is $12,000, with $8,000 for third prize, $2,000 for best performance of the Sokolovic work, and the $3,000 Székely Prize, for best performance of a Beethoven or Schubert quartet.
Founded in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of The Banff Centre, BISQC is a triennial competition that brings together a remarkably dedicated classical music audience, and helps support emerging careers. Recognized by the World Federation of International Music Competitions, it is among the top events of its kind.
The BISQC preliminary jury included Denis Brott, formerly of the Orford String Quartet, Marka Gustavsson of the Colorado Quartet, and Ian Swensen of the Meliora Quartet. The competition jury is made up of seven of the world’s top musicians, mentors, and teachers. They include Terence Helmer, formerly of the Orford Quartet, Erich Höbarth of Quatuor Mosaïques, Louise Hopkins of the Guildhall School, Hsin-Yun Huang, formerly of the Borromeo Quartet., Joel Krosnick of the Juilliard Quartet, Tim Vogler of the Vogler Quartet, and Timothy Ying, formerly of the Ying Quartet.
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The Banff International String Quartet Competition is generously supported by RBC.
For more information on BISQC: http://www.banffcentre.ca/bisqc/2010/
For complete streaming of the preliminary and final rounds on CBC Radio Two: http://www.banffcentre.ca/bisqc/2010/
