Winners of Basel Composition Competition announced
Monday, March 8, 2021
The third edition of the Basel Composition Competition took place from 4-7 March.
The jury selected 12 works (seven for symphony orchestra and five for chamber orchestra) from over 355 submitted scores.
The concerts were live-streamed, with the final concert on 7 March being broadcast on the streaming platform IDAGIO the same day.
The winners are as follows:
1st: Yiqing Zhu (CHN) - DeepGrey, awarded CHF 60'000.
2nd: Artur Akshelyan (ARM) - Three Pieces for Orchestra, awarded CHF 25'000.
3rd: Miguel Morate (ESP) - COMME S'EN VA CETTE ONDE, awarded CHF 15'000.
Michael Jarrell, president of the jury, said: 'The jury is very enthusiastic about the quality of the works performed in the final. We awarded first prize to Yiqing Zhu because he has a freshness in his musical language, which is able to render the energy of sound and a rich palette of colours, and because he has an excellent command of the orchestral instrument. He undoubtedly represents the expressions of a younger generation of composers.'
The Basel Composition Competition (biennial since 2017) aims to promote contemporary compositions for symphony and chamber orchestras.
The competition is backed by the Paul Sacher Foundation, an international centre for the study of 20th and 21st century music, and the Basel Composition Competition Foundation, founded by manager Christoph Müller.