Classical Music News

78th Concours de Genève Composition Edition Announces Finalists

June 4, 2024

3 MIN READ

Composers Léo Albisetti, Caio de Azevedo, and Sang-Min Ryu wil participate in this year's finals

The 78th Concours de Genève dedicated to Voice and Composition will be held from October 15–22, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland. The biennial Composition Competition is open to candidates born after October 20, 1984.

The 2024 Composition Competition will reward new works for solo viola and chamber orchestra of approximately 15 minutes, composed after May 2021. Applications were received from 28 different countries, 47% from Asia, 40% from Europe and 11% from the Americas.

The finalists are:

Léo Albisetti (26) for his work "Nouvel Elan" for viola and chamber orchestra: Born in Switzerland in 1997, Léo Albisetti began his musical training on the piano. At the age of 19, he entered the composition class of Michael Jarrell, Luis Naón, Eric Daubresse and Gilbert Nouno at the Haute école de Musique de Genève. He obtained a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in mixed composition. He composes mainly for chamber ensembles, but also for orchestra, wind band, electronics and theatre.
Caio de Azevedo (30) for his work “Marionettes” for viola and chamber orchestra: A Brazilian composer based in Germany. His compositions have been performed by ensembles such as the MIVOS Quartet, the Ensemble Recherche, and the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie. Notable works include the Music Theater piece "Finita" (2018) and the three-act ballet for orchestra "Macbeth" (2019). He holds a Master's degree in composition from the Musikhochschule München, where he studied with Moritz Eggert. In 2023, he was a resident at the Cité des Arts in Paris.
Sang-Min Ryu (24) for his work “The past recaptured” for viola and chamber orchestra: Born in 2000 in Chuncheon, South Korea. From 2019 to 2024, he studied composition, philosophy, mathematics and physics at Hanyang University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science with honours. During this time, his composition professors were Myung-Hoon Park and Ji-Hyang Kim. Drawing inspiration from philosophy—the art of creating concepts—his compositions primarily explore philosophical themes, incorporating ideas from philosophers such as Spinoza, Hegel, Bergson and Deleuze.

The finalists will stay in Geneva from October 16, 2024, and will have the opportunity to follow the rehearsals of their work ahead of the Final Round on October 20, 2024, with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, conducted by Pierre Bleuse, and soloists Lise Berthaud, Georgy Kovalev and Adrien La Marca.

The finalists are also invited to participate in a showcase concert on October 20, 2024, during which one or two of their works will be performed by students of the Haute École de musique de Genève.

First prize of the competition is endowed with CHF 15,000; second prize is CHF 10,000; and third prize is awarded with CHF 5,000.

Special prizes will include the CHF 1,500 Audience Prize; a Young Audience Prize at CHF 1,000; the CHF 1,000 Students Prize; and the Nicati-De Luze Special Prize valued at CHF 3,000.

Chaired by Pascal Dusapin, the Composition Competition jury will comprise Milica Djordjević, Francesco Filidei, Hector Parrà, and Francesca Verunelli.

"Through their work, they have demonstrated an already accomplished mastery of writing, discourse and orchestration,” said Secretary General, Didier Schnorhk. He added that “the jury chose three works of varied style, demonstrating a good command of writing, a musical and expressive vision and interesting sound design.”

More information can be found here.