After a year in which everything was different from before, this year sees the return of Supernova, the encouragement prize for promising chamber music ensembles. Programmers from the classical music world select for the eighth time this year two Belgian chamber music ensembles. The winners receive performance opportunities including at the laureate concert during the Klarafestival, but they also receive a concert series throughout the country and media attention from Musiq'3 and Klara.
The registration deadline closed on 31 October 2021 and a first selection was made based on submitted sound and/or video fragments. In this way, eight ensembles were selected for the semi-final on 6 December at CC ter lift in Bornem. The jury, consisting of programmers and experts, selected these ensembles from eight semi-finalists: Firgun Ensemble, Goggles, Ryelandt Trio and the Woodwork Reed Quintet. These four will compete for the two titles of honor on 30 January 2022 at deSingel in Antwerp.
Supernova is organized by nine partners, each partner appointing one jury member. The partners also commit (with the exception of Kunstenpunt, Klara and Musiq'3) to programming the winners.
Winners of the previous edition.
In the previous edition of SUPERNOVA, at a very exciting final in the chamber music hall of BOZAR, Trio Aries and the Desguin Kwartet were chosen.
Trio Aries, (consisting of violinist Alice Van Leuven, cellist Paul Heyman and pianist Wouter Valvekens) also secured a CD recording. The CD that resulted from this can be found at: https://www.etcetera-records.com/album/796/awakenings
Desguin Kwartet, (consisting of violinists Wolfram Van Mechelen and Ludovic Bataillie, violist Rhea Vanhellemont and cellist Pieter-Jan De Smet) won the audience prize worth €1000.
Who are this year's candidates?
The Firgun Ensemble was founded in 2017 and consists of Emile Souvagie (clarinet), Ludovic Bataillie (violin), Ciska Vandelanotte (violin), Jasmien Van Hauthem (viola) and Karin Broeckhove Ibarra (cello). The name 'Firgun' is an untranslatable word from Hebrew and means something like: 'Being happy about the happiness that befalls another'. The ensemble specializes in the repertoire written for clarinet and string quartet. In 2018 they won both the first prize and the audience prize at the Storioni Willem Twee Concours.
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© Peter Staessens[/caption]
Goggles is a playful and energetic duo consisting of Wim Pelgrims (percussion) and Esther-Elisabeth Rispens (soprano). Together they push boundaries in the contemporary music field. Always starting from a strong narrative, they search for an answer to the question: who actually is the percussionist or the singer?
Ryelandt Trio is the successor to Trio Telepatico with a new cellist and the start of an adventure towards lesser-known repertoire. The trio has consisted since 2019 of Pieter-Jan Verhoyen (piano), Jeroen De Beer (violin) and Pieter-Jan De Smet (cello). All three are also active in other ensembles alongside this trio and discover a diverse repertoire of chamber music. De Smet is also a member of the Desguin Kwartet, which won the previous edition of SUPERNOVA.
Woodwork Reed Quintet is a young ensemble and was founded in 2020. The ensemble consists of Anne-Leen Gevaert (oboe), Kevin Casteleyn (clarinet), Don-Paul Kahl (saxophone), Aaron Van de Winckel (bass clarinet) and Valérie Trangez (bassoon). It is not a line-up you encounter every day in the Belgian chamber music landscape. This unconventional combination of instruments gives the ensemble a unique sound color.
More information about the final can be found on the website of deSingel and Klarafestival
