The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classical music through public competition. [1] It was founded in 1957, and now 120 of the world's leading music competitions are members of the federation.
A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet, a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello, or occasionally a double bass.
Henri Marteau was a French violinist and composer.
Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu was a Spanish cellist and composer of the early 20th century.
Samuel Hans Adler is an American composer, conductor, author, and professor. During the course of a professional career which ranges over six decades he has served as a faculty member at both the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School. In addition, he is credited with founding and conducting the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra which participated in the cultural diplomacy initiatives of the United States in Germany and throughout Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Adler's musical catalogue includes over 400 published compositions. He has been honored with several awards including Germany's Order of Merit – Officer's Cross.
Arnold Atkinson Cooke was a British composer, a pupil of Paul Hindemith. He wrote a considerable amount of chamber music, including five string quartets and many instrumental sonatas, much of which is only now becoming accessible through modern recordings. Cooke also composed two operas, six symphonies and several concertos.
Augusta Read Thomas is an American composer and University Professor of Composition in the Department of Music at the University of Chicago, where she is also director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition.
Jenő Jandó was a Hungarian pianist and Professor of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He was the first house pianist for Naxos Records and recorded more than 60 albums.
The Geneva International Music Competition is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose headquarters are in Geneva.
Ivan Božičević is a Croatian composer, pianist, organist and jazz musician.
Ralph Henry Kirshbaum is an American cellist. His award-winning career combines the worlds of solo performance, chamber music, recording and pedagogy.
David Blair Hamilton is a New Zealand composer and teacher.
Emilio Colón is an American solo cellist, chamber musician, conductor, composer and pedagogue. He was born in Puerto Rico. He is an international artist, concertizing in Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.
Sviatoslav Nikolayevich Knushevitsky was a Soviet-Russian classical cellist. He was particularly noted for his partnership with the violinist David Oistrakh and the pianist Lev Oborin in a renowned piano trio from 1940 until his death. After Mstislav Rostropovich and Daniil Shafran, he is spoken of as one of the pre-eminent Russian cellists of the 20th century.
Adriana Hölszky is a Romanian-born German music educator, composer and pianist who has been living in Germany since 1976.
Herbert Blendinger was an Austrian composer and viola player of German origin.
Sung-Won Yang is a South Korean cellist who performs worldwide as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He studied with Philippe Muller and Janos Starker, and graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris.
Alexandre Alexandrovitch Kniazev is a Russian cellist and organist. He was named best musician of the year in Russia in 1999.
Günter Ludwig was a German pianist.