The competition is open to young European ensembles

Adelph Quartet

First prize winners the Adelphi Quartet

The Adelphi Quartet, founded in 2017 by four players from Belgium, Spain, Germany and Serbia, has won the 12,000 euro first prize at the 2020 Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation string quartet competition for young European ensembles. This edition of the biennial contest is partnered with the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, and as first prize winner the quartet is invited to participate in the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival 2021.

The group formed at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and currently pursue their masters degree in chamber music with Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartet. 

Second prize went to the Baum Quartet from South Korea-Germany, who recently won first prize at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition 2020. Placed third was British ensemble the Barbican Quartet, who won the 8th International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition in 2019 and have joined the St John’s Smith Square Young Artists scheme for 2019/2020.

Watch: The Barbican Quartet performs Mozart’s String Quartet K.428

Audience awards went to Quatuor Agate of France, the Barbican Quartet and the Javus Quartet, Austria. The other participating quartets were the Jubilee Quartet, UK, and Vigato Quartet from Germany.

Eight quartets were selected to perform, having qualified via the pre-selection (live) recordings round. Invited quartets were free to choose their repertoire, and were asked to give a spoken presentation detailing their goals.The prize winners were chosen by jury members Eleonore Büning, Christoph Poppen, Irene Schwalb and Oliver Wille.

 

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