Musica Viva Australia's Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition Announces Competitors

Musica Viva Australia (MVA) has announced the 14 selected ensembles for the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (MICMC), which will be held live in Melbourne next year from 3rd to 9th July, bringing some of the world's most outstanding young chamber musicians to Australia.

Musica Viva Australia's Preliminary Round judges, Josephine Vains and Caroline Almonte, have selected the best 14 groups from around the world who will compete in Melbourne in 2023, including piano trios from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as string quartets from North America, South America, Asia, and even some homegrown Australian talent, cementing the Competition's reputation as one of the most prestigious of its kind.

Established in 1991, and now a much-loved feature of Melbourne's cultural landscape, MICMC is held every four years to identify and cultivate the next generation of chamber music ensembles.

The Competition welcomes applicants who embody chamber music's ability to engage both mind and heart with performances that delight, inspire and challenge. MICMC ensembles ensure a vibrant future for chamber music, demonstrating and redefining the inimitable relationship between players, audiences, and composers for the 21st century.

The Competition is open worldwide to string quartets and piano trios in which all members are under the age of 36, with previous winners coming from countries including Germany, Israel, Russia, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Selected from over 60 entries competing in the Preliminary Round, the 14 ensembles will compete for a prize pool of over $150,000 including the $30,000 cash Monash University Grand Prize.

Wilma Smith, Musica Viva Australia's Artistic Director of Competitions, said, "We are very excited to be bringing a Melbourne icon back to town next July - MICMC 2023! Fourteen of the world's finest young string quartets and piano trios from all around the globe have been selected from a record number of entries to compete live in Melbourne for generous cash prizes and career-building international kudos.

I am thrilled with the quality of our competitors, and we are assured of a riveting event. MICMC is an important part of MVA's commitment to fostering new chamber groups and our lucky Melbourne audiences will undoubtedly experience early-career quartets and trios who will become the future legends of the international stage.

We would like to thank all the competitors who entered, our hard-working preliminary round jurors, our live-rounds international jury, and especially those whose ongoing generous support of MVA and MICMC make this Melbourne treasure sustainable for future generations."

The live-round jury will consist of internationally renowned figures of chamber music, including Amandine Savary, Cho-Liang Lin, Hsin-Yun Huang, Kirsten Dawes, Louise Hopkins, Lukas Hagen and Timo-Veikko Valve.

MVA is excited to announce commissions from Australians Maria Grenfell and Lee Bradshaw will be requirements of Round Two performances - bringing uniquely Australian music to this international audience.

The competitors include the Melbourne-based Affinity Quartet, who recently placed third in the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

All rounds are performed before a live audience, and Platinum and Gold Subscriptions are available to purchase now.

PIANO TRIOS:

Trio Delyria (Israel)

Trio Unio (South Korea)

Trio Gaia (USA)

Trio Bohémo (Czech Republic)

Trio Orelon (Germany/Spain/Italy)

Albéniz Trio (Spain/The Netherlands)

Trio Pantoum (France/South Korea)

STRING QUARTETS :

Dior Quartet (Israel/USA/Korea-Canada/St. Lucia)

Risus Quartet (USA/South Korea)

Terra String Quartet (Australia/USA/Venezuela)

MILA Quartet (China)

Affinity Quartet (Australia)

Quatuor Mona (Latvia/France/USA/South Korea)

Balourdet Quartet (USA)

DATES:

3-6 July, 2023: Rounds 1 and 2, Hawthorn Arts Centre
7 July, 2023: Semi-Finals, Hawthorn Arts Centre
9 July, 2023: Grand Finals, Melbourne Recital Centre

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