Banff, Alberta, August 27, 2013 - This evening, Competition director Barry Shiffman announced that the Navarra Quartet (UK/Ireland/The Netherlands), the Quatuor Cavatine (France), and the Dover Quartet (USA) have been chosen as finalists in the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) at Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. After five days of juried concerts focused on classical, Romantic, and 20th-century repertoire, as well as an original work created for the competition by composer Vivian Fung, the finalists were chosen from a group of the world’s most accomplished young string quartets.
On Sunday, September 1 at 2 p.m., these three quartets will go into a final round of performance before a full house in Banff Centre’s Eric Harvie Theatre. Each will present a Beethoven quartet of their choice:
Navarra Quartet • Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2
Quatuor Cavatine • Quartet in B flat Major, Op. 130 and Grosse Fuge from Op. 133 as Finale
Dover Quartet • Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2
The RBC Awards First Prize package includes a prize of $25,000 (CND), an extensive three-year career development program including concert tours in Europe and North America, Banff Centre residencies, including the production of a CD recorded and produced by the Centre’s Audio department, and public relations assistance. As well, the first prize includes a quartet of custom bows by renowned bow maker François Malo, a concert in Paris produced by ProQuartet, and a recital in Haydn hall at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, from the Esterhazy Foundation. The second prize award is $12,000, with $8,000 for third prize, $2,000 for best performance of the Fung work, the $3,000 Székely Prize, for best performance of a Schubert quartet, and the $3,000 R.S. Williams & Sons Haydn Prize for best performance of a Haydn quartet.
Founded in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of 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, charged with selecting the competition’s 10 finalists included former member of the Concord Quartet and current coordinator of chamber music at the Tanglewood Music Centre Norman Fischer, violinist Jerzy Kaplanek of the Penderecki String Quartet, and violist and former member of the Takács Quartet Roger Tapping. The seven competition jurors include violist Miguel de Silva, who plays for the Ysaÿe Quartet; cellist András Fejér, founder of the Takács Quartet; violinist Kikuei Ikeda of the Tokyo String Quartet and faculty member at the Yale School of Music; Garth Knox, former violist of the Arditti Quartet; violinist Nicolas Kitchen, founder of the Borromeo String Quartet; cellist Richard Lester of the London Haydn Quartet; and violinist Scott St. John of the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Banff Centre's mission is inspiring creativity. Thousands of artists, leaders, and researchers from across Canada and around the world participate in programs at Banff Centre every year. Through its multidisciplinary programming, Banff Centre provides the support needed to create, to develop solutions, and to make the impossible possible. Moving forward, the Centre will disseminate art and ideas developed in Banff through initiatives in digital, web, radio, and broadcast media.
About BISQC: Founded in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of 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. Past winners have included the St. Lawrence, Miró, Daedalus, Jupiter, TinAlley, and Cecilia String Quartets. BISQC takes place in the beautiful setting of Banff, Canada’s first National Park, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
About RBC's Commitment to Community and Sustainability: Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, and investor services and wholesale banking on a global basis. We employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed more than $95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in sponsorships.
Additional funding for BISQC comes from the Freeze Family Career Development Fund and the Aurora Fund of Banff Centre. The BISQC Commissioned Piece is supported by Banff Centre and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.