BISQC Overview
“The finest of its kind.”
—Raphael Hillyer (formerly with the Juilliard Quartet)
“Absolutely unique — there is no competition like this anywhere!”
—Thomas Brandis (former Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster)
Created in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of The Banff Centre, the Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) has since become recognized as one of the world’s leading international music competitions. The list of its winners reads like a who’s who of the world’s young ensembles.
The triennial competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, Geneva, and is the subject of a prize-winning television documentary, “Music, Mountains, Magic,” produced at the 1992 competition. Parts of the competition have been broadcast on radio across Canada on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and in the United States and Europe.
First-place winners in the first eight events were: the Colorado Quartet (1983), the Franciscan Quartet (1986), the Manfred Quartet (1989), the St. Lawrence String Quartet (1992), the Amernet Quartet (1995), the Miró Quartet (1998), the Daedalus Quartet (2001), and the Jupiter String Quartet (2004). (See complete list of winners.)
The competition is open to quartets of all nationalities whose members are all under the age of 35. Unidentified copies of quartets’ audition recordings are reviewed by a preliminary jury of three, who pick 10 quartets to come to Banff to play for a second jury of seven. Both juries consist of members, or former members, of the world’s leading quartets. Jurors in 2007 and those of past competitions have included members of the Alban Berg, Colorado, St. Lawrence, Orford, Budapest, Juilliard, Prague, Kolish, Takacs, Tokyo, Vermeer, Cleveland, Smetana, Borodin, and Quartetto Italiano, among others. The RBC Awards include $50,000 in cash, the offer of a Banff Centre residency with a compact disc recording, a set of bows from internationally-renowned Canadian bow maker François Malo, and a recital tour of Europe and North America arranged by The Banff Centre.
During preliminary sessions the quartets perform works from the classical, romantic, and contemporary repertoires, as well as a new work commissioned especially for the competition — for the 2007 Competition, Kelly-Marie Murphy will compose the new work. The commissioned works from past competitions have been:
- 2004 — Stewart Grant, String Quartet No. 2, Banff Variations
- 2001 — John Estacio, Test Run
- 1998 — Chan Ka Nin, Quartet No. 3
- 1995 — Heather Anne Schmidt, Phantoms
- 1992 — Marjan Mozetich, Lament in the Trampled Garden
- 1989 — Allan Bell, Arche II
- 1986 — John Hawkins, Three Archetypes
- 1983 — Harry Somers, Movement for String Quartet
After hearing each quartet play five complete works in the preliminary rounds of the competition, the jury will select four quartets to go onto the final round. They perform once more on the final evening, after which the jury announces a winner! During the exciting week-long event, the audience can stay at The Banff Centre along with the competitors.
The Music & Sound Program at The Banff Centre, the host and coordinator of the string quartet competition, is known for its success in providing supportive, flexible, and intensive programs year-round and special events which meet the artistic and career needs of individual musicians and audio engineers who are preparing for, or actively pursuing, careers in their profession.
The Banff International String Quartet Competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Founded in 1957 in Geneva, the Federation has more than 120 member competitions on five continents and is a member federation of the International Music Council (UNESCO, Paris).
World Federation of International Music Competitions
Fédération mondiale des concours internationaux de musique
104, rue de Carouge, CH-1205 Geneva, SWITZERLAND
phone: (41/22) 321 36 20, fax: (41/22) 781 14 18
email: info@wfimc.org, internet: www.wfimc.org