Following the wishes of Pablo Casals' widow, Marta Casals Istomin, the Kronberg Academy organizes the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition once every four years from the year 2000 onwards.
The competition is inspired by the musical legacy and humanist philosophy of Pablo Casals, and will create a lasting monument to the incredible life's achievement of this great artist and world statesman. To establish the first international cello competition in Germany was in many respects an immense challenge. The main aim of the competition is to discover and further the careers of the future cello elite; utmost objectivity is ensured by selecting jurors with extreme differences in style and approach. In the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition prize and scholarships are awarded on the basis of responsible promotion; an additional, unique element is the organization and negotiation of international engagements for prize-winners. This extraordinary competitive event is supported by the Pablo Casals Cello Foundation, under the patronage of Marta Casals Istomin.
• 2000 winners
Claudio Bohórquez was decided by a top-class jury as the winner of
the first International Pablo Casals Cello Competition that include a prize
money of 30.000 DM. In addition to the 24 year old artist from Gifhorn,
Germany, was honoured with two special awards: one for an excellent chamber
music interpretation, and the other for a cello donated and on loan for
the duration of 2 years, by Mrs. Marta Casals Istomin, honourable chairman
of the jury. The cello was once owned by her husband Pablo Casals.
The 23 year old Russian born Tatjana Vassilieva received the second prize, together with the prize money of 20.000 DM, as well as a special award for her excellent interpretation of Benjamin Britten's Sonata op. 65. The award was donated by the 1822-Foundation of the Frankfurter Sparkasse.
Gabriel Lipkind, the 23 year old Israeli, was awarded h the 3rd prize. Niklas Eppinger, (28), Mark Kosower (23) and Inbal Segev (27), were awarded 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.
Mark Kosower was also awarded a special prize for his excellent interpretation of "Solo - the Lament of a Wounded Bird" by Cristóbal Halffter and commissioned specifically for this competition. This award, including the prize money of 5000 DM, was donated by the Lions Club in Kronberg.
Jung Ran Lee from Korea, who is 16 years old and the youngest contestant, was given the award for young promising talents - a bow was made specially for this occasion, courtesy of the Rostropovich Cello Foundation.
The final ceremony took place at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. Marta Casals Istomin congratulated the winners and handed over the awards. 43 cellists came from all over the world to compete in Kronberg, of which 6 reached the final after a series of highly demanding qualifying rounds.
The jury included the cellists Maria Kliegel, Julius Berger, Young Chang Cho, Lluis Claret, Gary Hoffman, Antonio Meneses, Boris Pergamenschikow, Raimund Trenkler and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. The Spanish composer Cristóbal Halffter and the music publisher Dr. Peter Hanser-Strecker also joined the jury for the final round.
