Winners of the 22nd Arnuero International Chamber Music Competition (CIMCA)
The “Ricardo Hontañón” Award for Best Performance of a Work Composed After 1945 was awarded to A-Delta Trio for their performance of Début en si for three soprano saxophones by the French composer Benjamin Atthair.
The Aída Piano Trio, from the Royal College of Music in London and made up of Sofía Peciña Medina (piano), Esther Zaglia (violin) and Clélia Le Bret (cello), was awarded First Prize at the 22nd International Chamber Music Competition of Arnuero (CIMCA). The prize includes €3,000, a diploma, and a paid concert as part of the Creando Futuros series at the Centro Botín in Santander.
Once again, the Casa de las Mareas in Soano, located within the Ecoparque de Trasmiera (Cantabria), served as the venue for the CIMCA 2025 Grand Final, during which the remaining prizes were also awarded. Duo Elysium, formed by Oriana Kemelmajer Alías (piano) and Eduard Moya Crespín (viola), from the CSM del Liceu, received Second Prize, which carries €2,000 and an official diploma, as well as a paid concert within the Marcos Históricos programme of the Santander International Festival.
The “Ricardo Hontañón” Award for Best Performance of a Work Composed After 1945 (worth €1,000) went to A-Delta Trio, a saxophone ensemble from the Musik-Akademie Basel, for their performance of Début en si for three soprano saxophones by the French composer Benjamin Atthair. Meanwhile, the “Jesús de Monasterio” Award for Outstanding Violinist, which offers the recipient a concert at the Jesús de Monasterio House Museum sponsored by the Menéndez Pelayo Royal Society, was awarded to Esther Zaglia, violinist of the Aída Piano Trio.
The 22nd edition of CIMCA featured a total of eleven chamber ensembles from leading higher education institutions and conservatoires, including the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, the Royal College of Music in London, the Musik-Akademie Basel, ESMUC, the CSM del Liceu, and Musikene, among others. The professional jury was chaired by the composer Antonio Noguera Guinovart, author of Cuarteto del Amor Eterno, Op. 191, this year’s commissioned work, inspired by the Ecoparque de Trasmiera and dedicated to Antonio Margallo, director of the Cantabrian competition since its foundation. María del Mar Fernández Doval (soprano), Ana Gobantes de Miguel (piano), Belén Puerto Moreda (viola) and Pablo Ventosa Puras (flute) served as jury members.
