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Japan Chamber Music Foundation is delighted to announce the details of the 6th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition & Festa. A press conference was held in Osaka on 18th March introducing the following:
The 6th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition & Festa is going to take place on 20th-28th May 2008 at Izumi Hall in Osaka. The Secretariat received a record number of applications from all over the world and the preliminary screening was highly competitive. The President of the Competition & Festa Yoshihisa Akiyama commented, “We were able to select 46 excellent ensembles with 163 participants from entries of 230 ensembles with 753 applicants, which are the highest figures as ever. We hope that many people will have a chance to enjoy the touching musical moments when some of the world’s most talented musicians get together and play music.”
In addition, it is announced that there is a new outreach programme underway; Quartet Excelsior, who were awarded the Second Prize in the 2nd Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, are going to perform 13 community concerts in and around Osaka in May before the Competition & Festa starts.
Furthermore the Organiser is going to have an offer of free tickets to the Competition & Festa to give away. 20 winners per day will be decided by draw and will receive a pair of tickets.
The Organiser expects that these innovative measures will broaden the audience base of chamber music by acquiring new fans, which is a vital part of the Competition & Festa objective.
The Competition aims to turn spotlights on young and promising chamber music performers who struggle to see their achievements internationally recognised. The Competition has two sections; Section I for String Quartet and Section II for Piano Trio. The Competition jury is chaired by Ryuichiro Iwabuchi and includes violinists Zakhar Bron and Oleh Krysa, cellists Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Alain Meunier, and pianist Pascal Rogé. The Chairman Iwabuchi commented: “Chamber music is said to be the origin of classical music and we are proud that this competition of chamber music takes place in Osaka, not in Tokyo like many other cultural events.
By contrast, the Festa is a freestyle competition for ensembles consisting of two to six performers. It sets no age limit on participants nor specifies any repertoire. Ensembles can perform any kind of traditional or ethnic music from any region of the world. The Festa jury comprises of 100 members of the audience, who give their evaluations with minimal guidance from the Organiser. These audience judges are selected by lot.
Commenting on the Festa, Head judge Yoshihiko Kusakabe said: “There is no restriction such as age, gender, repertoire, or instruments in the Festa, which is really unique and we can probably say it is the “only one in the world” of its kind. We would like Osaka people to enjoy the Competition & Festa and its atmosphere both inside and outside of the venue Izumi Hall. If we can achieve this and also if the Competition & Festa can live up to its name with “Osaka” this big cultural city, the Festa will play a major role in its centripetal force of this important event.”
Contact (Secretariat) email:
osaka-comp@jcmf.or.jp
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About Quartet Excelsior
Quartet Excelsior was formed in 1994, when its members were studying at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 1996, Quartet Excelsior was awarded First Prize at the Tokyo Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize at the 2nd Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. They also won high prizes at the Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in 2000.
Further information of Quartet Excelsior is available at:
http://www.quartet-excelsior.jp |
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The above press release was reproduced by courtesy of the Japan Chamber Music Foundation.
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