This has been really tough. We've played over 30 new pieces from 14 different countries and had to pick only 3!
Some took inspiration from the past, others chose brave new paths forwards. Some were beautifully melodious, others impressionistic or driving gritty rhythms.
I'm extremely grateful that baroque violin legend Simon Standage and harpsichordist Satoko Doi-Luck joined the judging panel to help pick 3 winning compositions.
Simon Standage is well known as a violinist specialising in 17th and 18th-century
music. Leader and soloist with The English Concert from its foundation until
1990, he also fulfilled the same role for many years with the City of London
Sinfonia. As well as the many records he made with The English Concert, he also
recorded solo and chamber music with the Academy of Ancient Music, of which he was, with Christopher Hogwood, Associate Director from 1991 to 1995.
Since his founding, with Richard Hickox, of Collegium Musicum 90, he has made
numerous recordings for Chandos Records. As soloist and director of chamber
orchestras and chamber musician, he is active both in Britain and abroad. He is
leader of the Salomon String Quartet, which specialisesin historical performance of the Classical repertoire.
He received a medal for services to Polish culture in 2008, was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in 2009, and in 2010 received the Georg Philipp Telemann Prize from the city of Magdeburg.
Satoko Doi-Luck takes pleasure in a diverse career as a historical keyboardist and a composer. Satoko regularly gives solo recitals as well as enjoying playing with orchestras, and has performed with Birmingham Opera Company, La Serenissima, the Shakespeare's Globe and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with whom she has recently performed Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto on tour with Rachel Podger.
As a keen chamber musician; Satoko is a founding member of Ensemble Molière and Ceruleo. Ensemble Molière was a finalist in the York International Young Artists Competition 2017, and has been performing throughout Europe and in the UK.
With Ceruleo, she has been touring Burying the Dead - an original concert-play about the life and music of Henry Purcell - to various festivals in the UK including Buxton, Lake District and Ryedale. Both groups have also appeared on BBC Radio 3 and 4.
As a composer, her pieces for string quartet were performed by the players of the Orchestra of Age of Enlightenment at their Nightshift tour in 2013 and 2015. Recently she had commissions from CoMA (premiered at Shoreditch Town Hall), London Music Masters (premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank), and Music in the Village.
Before I say anything else though, may I just say in capital letters:
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for all your WONDERFUL work, ORIGINAL ideas, time and effort.
It was a GREAT pleasure to appreciate your compositions and I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the positive energy and motivation that came out of the process.
You have turned this difficult period into a creative adventure and for that I will be FOREVER grateful.❤
But now your wait is OVER!
I present the 3 winning compositions:
⭐‘Yellow’ by Samuel Howley
⭐‘The Spectre’ by Erik Valdemar Sköld
⭐‘Ostinato in 7’ by Oscar Tysoe
HONORABLE MENTION goes to Massimo de Lillo for his ‘Tra i colori del cielo’ that will be performed alongside the 3 above pieces during the 2021 Recital Series.
Stay tuned, more updates from the filming process soon!