On Friday, May 31, 2002, at 8 pm, at McGill University’s Redpath Hall, the Molinari Quartet announced the names of the prizewinners of its First International Composition Contest for String Quartet. The winners were selected from 222 entries submitted from applicants aged less than 40. The jury, comprising members of the Molinari Quartet and composers Denis Gougeon, R. Murray Schafer and Gilles Tremblay, convened in May to evaluate the 222 original scores received from 39 different countries. –

First Prize / $3 000 grant with a serigraphy by Canadian artist Guido Molinari

Vsevolod Chmoulevitch (Russia, 1970), for his work “Romantic” String Quartet

– Vsevolod Chmoulevitch studied composition and conducting at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He has won five international competitions, including the Concours H. Dutilleux in 1999. Several orchestras and ensembles have commissioned works of his which are performed in a number of national and international festivals. –

Second prize / $2 000 grant

Morritz Eggert (Germany, 1965), for his work Kleine Fluchten (Little Hideaways)

– Morritz Eggert studied piano and composition and has been awarded several prizes, notably The Salzburger Osterfestspiele Schneider/Scott and Ad Referendum from the SMCQ. In 1991, he established the Devantgarde Festival for New Music with Sandeep Bhagwati. His catalogue comprises six operas, works for solo piano and music for the stage, including ballets, theatre and dance. In 1997, the German television made a documentary film on his work as a composer. –

Third prize / bourse de $1000 grant

Wolf Edwards (Canada, 1972), for his work Island

– Alexios Porfyriadis was born in Greece in 1971. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, in the class of Gerd Kühr and received in 2002 a Diploma in composition with distinction. He pursued his studies with Beat Furrer Erich Urbanner (Kunstuniversität Wien), Emmanuel Nunes (Conservatoire National de Paris), Mathias Spahlinger (Musikhochschule Freiburg) and York Höller (Musikhochschule Köln). Mr Porfyriadis has recieved many scholatships including a State Scholarship for Composition of the Republic of Austria, a Music Award of the city of Graz, Austria, and a scholarship from the Carl Michael Ziehrer Trust. His works have been performed in Austria, Greece, Croatia and Poland. –

Honourable mention

Alberto Colla (Italy, 1968), for his work In memoria di Sergej Prokofiev

– Alberto Colla has earned diplomas in composition, piano and choral conducting. Nine international prizes have been awarded to him, such as the Concorso Internationale G. Verdi per la Composizione di un opera lirica (Parma, 2001), The Dimitris Mitropoulos International Competition for Composing (Athens, 1999) and The Third International Memorial Competition for composers (Oslo, 1998). His works are performed by prestigious ensembles in several national and international festivals, as well as on the radio and television. Luciano Berio has commissioned a new work – for choir and symphony orchestra – from Mr. Colla, for the inauguration of a new hall in Rome in 2002. –

The four prizewinners have been invited to rehearse with the Molinari Quartet prior to the Concert des lauréats which was held on November 15, 2002, and participate in the series Dialogues à la Chapelle, consisting in public workshops for discussion and performance initiated by the Molinari Quartet.

In addition, the four winning works have been recorded on a compact disc for the ATMA Classique label.