Winners Announced at Carl Nielsen String Quartet Competition

London-based Kleio Quartet is the winner of the String Quartet Competition 2023

The Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition, which was held in Copenhagen between April 12 and 16, celebrates the music of Carl Nielsen by requiring competing ensembles to perform his works, among other music.

The Violin Channel streamed the second round and finals of the competition, here.

After having heard all three ensembles playing both Beethoven and Carl Nielsen, the jury chose the Kleio Quartet from London for the 1st Prize and the best performance of the commissioned piece by Gustav Bjerre, which carry the value of €15,000 and €2,500 prize respectively.

NOVO Quartet from Copenhagen won the 2nd Prize and €10,000, while the Quartett Hana from München took home 3rd Prize and €5,00.

The jury for the string quartet portion of the competition will be comprised of Clive Greensmith (chair), Berit Cardas, Gunvor Sihm, Sergei Bresler, and Marie Bitlloch.

The Kleio Quartet was formed at the Seiji Ozawa International Chamber Academy in 2019. They consist of violinists Yume Fujise and Katherine Yoon, violist Jenny Lewisohn, and cellist Eliza Millett.

The group has performed in major international venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Victoria Hall, Cadogan Hall, Royal Festival Hall, the DR Koncerthuset and many others. They have recently held a Residency at Snape Maltings' Britten-Pears Festival in Aldeburgh and look forward to a series of residencies hosted by the Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam from 2023-25. They are delighted to have been selected both for the Tunnell Trust’s Music Club Awards Scheme 2022/23 and as Kirckman Concert Society Young Artists for 2023/24. They have also been selected to join the MERITA platform from 2023-25.

The competition runs two categories, one for string quartets and one for wind quartets. In the Wind Quintet Competition, Ensemble Astera from Switzerland took the 1st Prize and the best performance of the commissioned piece by Athanasia Kotronia. SenArts Wind Quintet from Barcelona won the 2nd prize and Alinde Quintet from Czech Republic the 3rd Prize.