Paulo Cello Competition goes to favourite, Andreas Brantelid of Sweden

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It came as little surprise, when the jury for the 4th International Paulo Cello Competition finally gave out the results, to hear that victory and the first prize of EUR 15,000 had gone to the talented 19-year-old Andreas Brantelid of Sweden.
      He had been the favourite from the early stages of an event that began nearly two weeks ago, and it was only a matter of how well he could perform in the final round. Since he was also the last of the six finalists to take the stage (the finals were held over three evenings from Sunday, with two of the last six contestants - from of an original entry of 26 - performing each night), the tension was racked up nicely for the culmination of the competition. He did not disappoint, and so it was a surprise when the results did not appear immediately.
      The jury were deliberating about the other placings, explained Chairman and Artistic Director Arto Noras.
     
In the end, Béatrice Reibel of France took the runner-up spot and EUR 12,000 in prize money, and third place and 9,000 euros went to Nicolas Alstedt of Germany.
      The only Finnish entrant left in the competition, Samuli Peltonen, shared 4th place with Janina Ruh from Germany, and Silver Ainomäe of Estonia was sixth.
     
Brantelid's interpretation of Prokofiev's demanding Sinfonia Concertante was a resounding success, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra were already saying they would give the youngster a further engagement before the results came in.
      He entered the competition on the back of a win in the 2006 Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians in Vienna, and he had also little time to digest his latest triumph, as he was jetting off to perform tonight in Denmark.
     
The International Paulo Cello Competition was first held in 1991, and on this occasion the competition was spread across the country, with the first round held in Helsinki, the second round in Kuopio, Jyväskylä and Oulu, and the finals in the Espoo Cultural Centre and Helsinki's Finlandia Hall.
      The competition was open to cellists of all nationalities born between the years 1974 and 1991.
      Previous winners have been: Xavier Phillips (France, 1991), Hai-Ye Ni (China, 1996), and Enrico Bronzi (Italy, 2002).


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Favourite takes unanimous win in International Paulo Cello Competition (15.11.2002)

Links:
  International Paulo Cello Competition

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