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Agata Zubel and Cezary Duchnowski - the Winners of the "Gaudeamus" Competition
2005-05-02
The Jury of the 35th international „Gaudeamus” Competition for Contemporary Music Performers in Amsterdam has awarded a special prize to the „ElletroVoce” duet as the best electronic music ensemble.
The Wrocław musicians Agata Zubel and Cezary Duchnowski, the „ElletroVoce” duet, have won a special prize from „Gaudeamus” - one of the world’s most important contemporary music performance competitions.
The „Gaudeamus” competition is held every two years and is organized by the „Gaudeamus” Foundation, known for its world-wide popularization of contemporary music. It is intended for soloists and duetists – artists born after 25 April 1969. In ensembles the average age cannot exceed 35 years. For vocalists the upper age limit is 40 years. The competition was held in the Conservatory in Amsterdam.
97 ensembles and soloists from all over the world competed for this year’s prize. 12 groups passed to the second stage and 5 to the finals. The jury made up of Vera Beths, Walter van Hauwe, Helen Jahren Benjamin Kobler and Lucas Vis (chairman) awarded a special prize to the „ElletroVoce” duet as the best electronic music ensemble.
Both musicians have won numerous prizes. Agata Zubel has received the „Passport” of the weekly Polityka in the category of classical music, while last year Cezary Duchnowski was awarded the Wrocław Musical Prize in the category „The Creative Personality of the Year” for the world success of his composition „Monada 3” for female voice, piano and computer at the 10th UNESCO International Electroacoustic Music Rostrum (May 2004). This year, as the „ElettroVoce” duet, they were nominated for the „Lower Silesia Diamond of the Year” prize.
In successive stages of the competition they performed the following works:
Cezary Duchnowski – Dishevelled Grasses (voice and computer)
Agata Zubel – Stories (voice and prepared piano)
Alejandro Vinao – Chianti d’Ailleurs (voice and computer)
Katarzyna Arnhold – My Spirits Are Like Birds (voice and computer)
Hiromi Ishii – Polymorphia (contralto and computer)
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