José ’El Marqués’ receives the €6,000 award at the International Cante de las Minas Festival, the first time the prize has ever been granted to a cellist in the festival’s history
The 63rd International Cante de las Minas Festival concluded on 10 August at the Old Public Market in La Unión, Spain. The €6,000 Filón prize for the best Flamenco Instrumentalist was awarded to Spanish cellist José L. López Fernández, who goes by José ‘El Marqués’, following a series of qualifying rounds in which he performed his own compositions for solo cello. It is the first time in the history of the festival that the award has been given to a cellist.
‘José “El Marqués” has demonstrated the potential of the cello to speak flamenco as a solo instrument. This has earned him the award,’ the Festival announced on social media.
López Fernández was previously a finalist in the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain’s 2023 Talía Awards, won the Composition Award for the best original music for dance at the International Flamenco and Spanish Dance Choreography International Competition in 2002, and has received multiple Max Award nominations.
‘It’s an incredible feeling,’ López Fernández said of his Filón award. ‘I’m working on a flamenco cello album, and it’s going to be great for me to get people to know it.’
Read: Spanish cellist wins the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition
Read: Winners announced for the 2024 Kreutzer International Music Competition
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