We’re coming to you LIVE from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada for all rounds of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

The competing string quartets this year are:

  • Arete Quartet (South Korea)
  • Cong Quartet (Hong Kong)
  • Quatuor Elmire (France)
  • Quartett HANA (Germany)
  • Quartet KAIRI (Germany)
  • Quatuor Magenta (France)
  • Nerida Quartet (Germany)
  • Poiesis Quartet (U.S.A)
  • Viatores Quartet (Berlin, Germany)

Established in 1983 as part of Banff Centre’s 50th anniversary, BISQC is held once every three years. Directed by Barry Shiffman, this year's competition offers over $500,000 CAD in cash, prizes, and career development opportunities which include touring, a recording residency, the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize of a paid residency worth $110,000 CAD, an Esterházy Foundation Residency with concerts at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival, and an opportunity for a two-week Chamber Music in Residency at the prestigious Britten Pears Arts in England.

The jury in the live rounds comprises of Eckart Runge (Artemis Quartet), Marie Chilemme (Quatuor Cavatine/Quatuor Ebène), Jonathan Crow (New Orford String Quartet), Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (Dover Quartet), Honggang Li (Shanghai Quartet), Eugene Drucker (Emerson String Quartet), David Ying (Ying Quartet).

COMPETITION SCHEDULE:

Round 1: Competitors perform a full work by Franz Joseph Haydn and a complete quartet written after January 1, 2000

Session 1 | August 25 at 4 PM (ET)

  • Quartett HANA
  • Quatuor Elmire

 

Session 2 | August 25 at 9:30 PM (ET)

  • Nerida Quartet
  • Viatores Quartet

Session 3 | August 26 at 12:30 PM (ET)

  • Quartet KAIRI
  • Poiesis Quartet

Session 4 | August 26 at 4 PM (ET)

  • Cong Quartet


Session 5 | August 26 at 9:30 PM (ET)

  • Arete Quartet
  • Quatuor Magenta

 

Round 2: Competitors perform a complete romantic or nationalist quartet of the 19th century

Session 1 | August 27 at 4 PM (ET) 

  • Quartet KAIRI
  • Cong Quartet
  • Poiesis Quartet

Session 2 | August 27 at 9:30 PM (ET)

  • Quartett HANA
  • Quatuor Magenta
  • Viatores Quartet

Session 3 | August 28 at 12 PM (ET)

  • Arete Quartet
  • Nerida Quartet
  • Quatuor Elmire

World Premiere Round: All quartets perform a new quartet by Canadian composer Kati Agócs

August 29 at 12 PM (ET)

  • Viatores Quartet
  • Arete Quartet
  • Cong Quartet
  • Quatuor Magenta
  • Quatuor Elmire
  • Quartett HANA
  • Nerida Quartet
  • Quartet KAIRI
  • Poiesis Quartet

 

Round 3: Competitors perform the first movement of a Beethoven/Schubert quartet and a complete work from the 20th century

Session 1 | August 30 at 12 PM (ET)

  • Quartet KAIRI
  • Quatuor Magenta
  • Arete Quartet

 

Session 2 | August 30 at 4 PM (ET)

  • Quatuor Elmire
  • Viatores Quartet
  • Quartett HANA

 

Session 3 | August 30 at 9:30 PM (ET)

  • Nerida Quartet
  • Poiesis Quartet
  • Cong Quartet

 

Final Round: Finalists will perform free programing of their choice

August 31 at 4 PM (ET)