The Molinari Quartet's Fourth International Competition for Composition

During its concert on Thursday May 14 2009, at 8 pm, at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, the Molinari Quartet announced the names of the prizewinners of its Fourth International competition for Composition for String Quartet. The winners were selected from 92 entries submitted by applicants aged less than 40. The jury, comprising members of the Molinari Quartet and composers Ana Sokolovic and Brian Cherney convened in May to evaluate 92 original scores received from 32 countries.

Snezana Nesic was born on November 25, 1972 in Serbia and now lives in Hanover, Germany. She teaches contemporary music performance at the Hanover University of Music and Drama.

She studied composition and accordeon at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Kiev (Ukraine). As an accordeonist, she has won many first prizes in international competitions. Mrs. Nesic appeared as composer and soloist in important festivals in Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Ukrainia and Slovakia.

David Philip Hefti was born on April 13, 1975 in St.Gallen, Switzerland. He is a prize-winner of the Lutoslawski and Geroge Enescu competitions. He has studied composition, conducting, clarinet and chamber music at the Winterthur, Zurich et Karlsruhe Conservatories. His music has been heard in many festivals including Musica de Hoy in Madrid, Pablo Casals in Prades, EuroArt in Prague, Music today 21 in Tokyo, and at the Bejing Modern.

Dae-Seob Han was born on February 6, 1977 in Seoul, South Korea and now lives in Weimar, Germany. He holds a Bachelor degree from the University Hoseo in Korea and, since 2004, studies at the Hochschule für Musik Franz-Liszt in Weimar. Dae-Seob Han is a prize-winner of many competitions including the 5th edition of the Camillo Togni Competition in Italy and the 29th edition of the Seoul International Music Festival.

Zhenzhen Zhang was born in 1987 and is presently studying at the Shanghai Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Huang Lv. Many of her works have been played and published, and the Shanghai Conservatory has selected on many occasions her works to be presented at national and international competitions.

The four prizewinners will be invited to work with the Molinari Quartet prior to the Concert des lauréats which will be held on January 29, 2010. The winners will also participate in the series Dialogues, consisting in public workshops of discussion and performance initiated by the Molinari Quartet.

In addition, the four winning works will be recorded on the ATMA Classique label.