The winners of Kamermuziek Concours Gelre 2023
Wow! Yesterday was the finals of Kamermuziek Concours Gelre 2023 and how we enjoyed ourselves! After a musical afternoon and an exciting jury meeting, we were able to congratulate the following ensembles:
- 1st Prize: SeT Duo (short clip)
- 2nd Prize: Duo Saraswati (short clip)
- 3rd Prize: Utrecht Piano Trio (short clip)
- Podium Prize: Duo Saraswati
- Festival Prize: Van Gunsteren Keinänen (short clip)
We are already extremely curious about the further course of the masterclasses and concerts to be received.
Muze Kwartet did not receive a prize, but played fantastically. You can listen to a short excerpt here.
Yesterday, Wednesday 20 September, were Liza Ferschtman’s three master classes to winning ensembles of the 2022 competition, followed by a beautiful afternoon concert by two of these ensembles. It was an incredibly musical day that we enjoyed immensely. We once again thank the participating ensembles, the audience and, of course, Liza Ferschtman! Below is a small selection of the masterclasses!
Anna & Menno: watch
Femke & Lidwien: watch
Nina & Damiën: watch
Curious for more? Then come and watch during this year’s finals next Sunday 24 September. Buy your tickets here!
The masterclasses (see previous news item) will be followed by an afternoon concert by two of the three ensembles. Read which pieces are on the programme below! Femke Chu & Lidwien Kuijper and Nina Broeva & Damiën Heemskerk will present their programme from 16:00h. Both combination and single tickets are available for the day. Take a look at De Vereeniging’s website!
On Wednesday 20 September, three finalists of Kamermuziek Concours Gelre 2022 will receive their prize in the Kleine Zaal of De Vereeniging: a masterclass by top violinist Liza Ferschtman. Audiences are allowed to attend these master classes. The following ensembles can be heard: Anna Martirosian & Menno Verloop, Femke Chu & Lidwien Kuijper and Nina Broeva & Damiën Heemskerk. Witness how young musicians are led into the secrets of true stage level. Read below which pieces are on the repertoire at the masterclasses. Tickets for the masterclasses can be ordered on De Vereeniging’s website here. This will be followed by an afternoon concert by two of these ensembles. More about that in the next news item!
Curious to hear how the finalists of the Kamermuziek Concours Gelre play? Then listen to some short excerpt recordings here! Tickets for the final in De Vereeniging in Nijmegen can be ordered online here.
Duo Saraswati: video
Muze Kwartet: video
SeT Duo: video
Utrecht Piano Trio: video
Van Gunseren Keinänen: video
Yesterday was the semi-final of Kamermuziek Concours Gelre in Akoesticum, Ede. Eight incredibly talented ensembles presented their music pieces/programme there. After a short deliberation between jury members Frank van de Laar, Chris Duindam and Erika Waardenburg, we were told that the following five ensembles may present themselves during our final in September: Muze Kwartet, SeT Duo, Van Gunseren Keinänen, Duo Saraswati and Utrecht Piano Trio. Congratulations! We wish everyone a happy summer and look forward to the continuation of our competition.
Duo Saraswati is a young up-and-coming cello-piano duo consisting of brothers Jan and Kris van der Plas. With their passionate way of playing, they make the distinct connection between Indonesia and Europe. They were frequent guests on the television programme Podium Klassiek and in the Concertgebouw on Radio 4. In 2023, at the invitation of the Erasmus House in Jakarta, they will tour Indonesia. In Duo Saraswati’s challenging repertoire, they focus on connecting the musical worlds of Indonesia and Europe.
The Utrecht Piano Trio was founded by Lisa Angelia Tanto (fromIndonesia), Tiago Coelho (from Portugal)and Maria Soeiro (from Portugal) at the HKU Utrecht Conservatorium, Netherlands, in 2021. The trio is coached by Sebastian Koloski and received master classes from Gregor Sigl, Luc-Marie Aguera, Johannes Meissl, Xavier Gagnepain, Anna Zassimova, Andreas Frölich, Klára Würtz, Timora Rosler, Viola de Hoog, Annemarie Konijnburg, Kennedy Moretti, Andras Kemenes and Gusta Gerritsen. The Up Trio was semi-finalist in the Grachten Festival Concours 2022.
SeT Duo is a saxophone and percussion duo formed in 2021 at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague where both Zofia Kęsy (saxophone) and Te-Ping Teng (percussion) are currently studying. Both musicians are very interested in contemporary and new music, which is the main focus of the ensemble. The duo has worked with composers in the 2022/2023 season and they are eager to do more such projects in the coming years. SeT Duo played at many concerts and festivals, always surprising audiences with extraordinary sounds and energy. During recent years, they had the chance to work with many great musicians such as: Alena Walentin, Alban Wesly, Lars Niederstrasser, Niels Meliefste and Pepe Garcia.
Dutch viola player Duleen van Gunsteren was born in Noordwijk in 1995. As a boy, he studied violin at the School voor Jong Talent in The Hague with Koosje van Haeringen. He then continued his studies in viola at Conservatorium Rotterdam with Ron Ephrat. He is currently taking the Masters course with Marjolein Dispa-Knaven at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Finnish clarinettist Kerttu Keinänen (1997) studied with Harmen de Boer at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Her repertoire is broad, but her favourite composer par excellence is Johannes Brahms. She also has a great love for music from her homeland, by Jean Sibelius and Einojuhani Rautavaara, for example.
We are the CU5 Koperkwintet, five friends who together want to make chamber music for brass accessible to the public. We aim for high-quality performances and are ambitious both technically and musically. The quintet was formed in September 2022 after which we started working very intensively together to achieve high-quality performances initially within the conservatoire. Subsequently, we have the ambition to participate in competitions and concerts within the Benelux.
They began their musical studies at the Conservatório – Escola das Artes on their native island of Madeira, Daniel Bolba and Inês Díez met again in the Netherlands and began their duet in 2021. Since then, they have performed at the RCO House, Uitmarkt Festival and Grachten Festival, among others. In 2022, they commissioned the piece Red Roof-Green Wall for marimba and violin from Dutch composer and timpanist Nick Woud, which they recorded and presented in several live performances in the Netherlands and Belgium. Looking to expand the literature for this unconventional formation, Reencounters seeks collaborations with composers and dives into existing repertoire, with the ambition to reinvent the place of modern music in classical programmes. Inês Díez completed her Bachelor studies in violin at Codarts-Rotterdam with Natalia Morozova and her Masters and Postgraduate at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Philippe Graffin. Daniel Bolba completed his Bachelor and is currently pursuing his Masters at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under the guidance of Arnold Marinissen, Xi Zhang, Nick Woud, Mark Braafhart and Bence Major.
Time to introduce the participating ensembles for the semi-final of the Kamermuziek Concours Gelre! Starting with the Muze Kwartet and Novus Aer.
This is the Muze Kwartet! A passionate piano quartet founded in 2021. The members know each other from their studies at the Prince Claus Conservatorium in Groningen. A close, musical bond soon develops. In their opinion, the piano quartet is not programmed often enough, while so much wonderful repertoire has been written for it. Muze strives time and again to be allowed to share this fantastic genre, the piano quartet, with the public.
Novus Aer was founded in 2022 by three enthusiastic musicians and fellow students at Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. Claudia Veloso (flute), Fransico Costa (bassoon) and Marit van der Made focus on contemporary music, polyphony and classical works with groove. The different nationalities within the ensemble brings a mix of rhythms, different styles and a varied repertoire. Because of these unique sounds, Novus Aer is always looking for new colours to push the boundaries of the traditional chamber music repertoire.
