The International

String Quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

Competition "Premio Paolo Borciani" was created in 1987 in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, Italy, and is dedicated to their famous fellow citizen, founder and first violin of th
Quartetto Italiano
The promoter and organiser i
Fondazione I Teatri
in Reggio Emilia; artistic director is Paolo Cantù; founder was pianist Guido Alberto Borciani,

Paolo Borciani The Quartetto Italiano ( en, Italian Quartet) was a string quartet founded in Reggio Emilia in 1945. They made their debut in 1945 in Carpi when all four players were still in their early 20s. They were originally named Nuovo Quartetto Italiano b ...

’s brother. The competition has been a member of the

World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classi ...

since 1991.

Competition results

1987

*1st Prize: not awarded *2nd Prize: Carmina String Quartet, Switzerland *3rd Prize: not awarded

1990

*1st Prize
Keller String Quartet
Hungary *2nd Prize: Lark String Quartet, United States *3rd Prize: ex-aequo Danubius String Quartet, Hungary and Subaru String Quartet, Japan

1994

*1st Prize: not awarded *2nd Prize: Mandelring String Quartet, Germany *3rd Prize: not awarded *Special Prize: Mandelring String Quartet, Germany (best performance of the Quartet commissioned to

Marco Stroppa Marco Stroppa (born 8 December 1959, in Verona) is an Italian composer who writes computer music as well as music for instruments with live electronics. Biography Marco Stroppa studied piano, composition, choral direction and electronic music at ...

)

1997

*1st Prize
Artemis String Quartet
Germany *2nd Prize: not awarded *3rd Prize: ex-aequo Auer String Quartet, Hungary and Lotus String Quartet, Japan *Special Prize: Lotus String Quartet, Japan (best performance of the Quartet commissioned to

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

)

2000

*1st Prize: not awarded *2nd Prize: Excelsior String Quartet, Japan *3rd Prize: Casals String Quartet, Spain *Special Prize: Excelsior String Quartet, Japan (best performance of the Quartet commissioned to

Salvatore Sciarrino Salvatore Sciarrino (born 4 April 1947) is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. Described as "the best-known and most performed Italian composer" of the present day, his works include ''Quaderno di strada'' (2003) and ''La porta d ...

)

2002

*1st Prize
Kuss String Quartet
Germany *2nd Prize: Pacifica Quartet, United States *3rd Prize: Auer Quartet, Hungary *Special Prize: Ex-aequo Kuss Quartet and Pacifica Quartet (best performance of the Quartet commissioned to

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...

)

2005

*1st Prize:

Pavel Haas Quartet The Pavel Haas Quartet is a Czech Republic, Czech string quartet which was founded in 2002. Their first album with the second quartets of Pavel Haas, Haas and Leoš Janáček, Janáček won the 2007 Gramophone Award, ''Gramophone'' Award for Chamb ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

*2nd Prize: Tankstream Quartet, Australia *3rd Prize:

Chiara String Quartet The Chiara String Quartet was an internationally performing professional string quartet based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Group was the Quartet-in-residence at the School of Music in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Blodgett Artists-in-Re ...

, United States *4th Prize: €4,000, offered by Mrs Irene Steels-Wilsing (Brussels) in memory of an unforgettable week Biava Quartet, United States *Special Prize for the best performance of the quartet commissioned to Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

2008

*1st Prize
Bennewitz String Quartet

*2nd Prize:

Doric String Quartet The Doric String Quartet is based in the UK and was formed in 1998. As of 2022, the members are Alex Redington and Ying Xue on violin, Hélène Clément on viola and John Myerscough on cello. Past members include Jonathan Stone (violin; 1998–2018) ...

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Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

*3rd Prize: ''ex aequo'' Ardeo String Quartet, France and Signum String Quartet, Germany *Special Prize Irene Steels-Wilsing: Amaryllis String Quartet, Germany/Swtzerland *Special Prize for the best performance of the new quartet commissioned t
Giovanni Sollima
Quiroga String Quartet, Spain

2011

*1st Prize: not awarded *Finalist Prize
Amaryllis Quartet
Germany
Meccorre Quartet
Poland
Voce Quartet
France *Audience Prize: Voce Quartet, France *Special Prize for the best performance of the new quartet commissioned to

Giya Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia but resided in Belgium. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli lived first in B ...

: ex aequo Meccorre Quartet, Poland and Cavaleri Quartet, UK

2014

*1st Prize: Kelemen Quartet, Hungary *2nd Prize: Mucha Quartet, Slovakia *3rd Prize: Varèse Quartet, France *Audience Prize: Mucha Quartet, Slovakia *Special Prize for the best performance of a contemporary piece: Varèse Quartet, France

2017

*1st Prize: not awarded *2nd Prize: Omer Quartet, United States *3rd Prize: Quartetto Adorno, Italy *Audience Prize: Quartetto Adorno, Italy *Special Prize for the best performance of a contemporary piece: Quartetto Adorno, Italy

Honorary Committee

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...

* Borodin String Quartet *

Radu Lupu Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teach ...

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (born 5 January 1942) is an Italian pianist. He is known for performances of compositions by Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, among others. He has also championed and performed works by contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez ...

External links

Fondazione I Teatri di Reggio Emilia
Competition's venue and organizer.

Sources

Premio Borciani

DIE ZEIT, 26.06.2008 Nr. 27
{{in lang, de Music competitions in Italy