After a year in which everything was different from before, this year marks the return of Supernova, the encouragement prize for promising chamber music ensembles. Programmers from the classical music world are selecting two Belgian chamber music ensembles for the eighth time this year. 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 audio and/or video fragments. 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 honorary titles on 30 January 2022 at deSingel in Antwerpen.
Supernova is organised by nine partners, each partner appoints one jury member. The partners also commit themselves (with the exception of Kunstenpunt, Klara and Musiq'3) to programming the winners.
Winners of the previous edition.
In the previous edition of SUPERNOVA, Trio Aries and the Desguin Kwartet were chosen in an extremely exciting final in the chamber music hall of BOZAR.
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, viola player 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 during the Storioni Willem Twee Concours.
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Goggles is a playful and energetic duo consisting of Wim Pelgrims (percussion) and Esther-Elisabeth Rispens (soprano). Together they explore the boundaries in the contemporary music domain. Always starting from a strong narrative, they seek an answer to the question: who is actually the percussionist or the singer?
Ryelandt Trio is the successor to the Trio Telepatico with a new cellist and the start of an adventure towards lesser-known repertoire. The trio has existed since 2019 and consists of Pieter-Jan Verhoyen (piano), Jeroen De Beer (violin) and Pieter-Jan De Smet (cello). All three are active in other ensembles alongside this trio and discover diverse chamber music repertoire. 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 colour.
More information about the final can be found on the website of deSingel and Klarafestival