Yesterday, May 21, 2025, the Grand Final of the Extraordinary Prizes of the Liceu Conservatory for this 2024-2025 academic year was held at the Liceu Conservatory Auditorium in the categories of Classical and Contemporary Music Performance and Chamber Music Performance.
The jury decided to award the Prize in the Classical and Contemporary Music Performance category ex aequo to students Álvaro Basco (countertenor) and Gerard Pujol (euphonium), both scholarship students by the Ferrer Music Foundation.
Álvaro Basco performed Va tacito e nascosto by Handel, Silent Noon by Vaughan Williams, and Plany by Jordi Domènech, with Marta Pujol as the accompanying pianist. Gerard Pujol performed the first and second movements of the Concerto for Euphonium by Philip Willby, accompanied by Mariona Sarquella on piano.
Finalists in this category included Carlos Coronado (flamenco guitar), Maria Espuny (piano), and Lluc Montmany (violin), also scholarship students by the Ferrer Music Foundation.
The Prize in the Chamber Music Performance category was awarded to the Quartet Potenza, consisting of Dai Mar López (violin), Lluc Montmany (violin), Ainara Quijada (viola), and Jorge Sierra (cello), all of whom scholarship students by the Ferrer Music Foundation. They performed the first movement of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D.810, “Death and the Maiden.”
Among the finalists in Chamber Music were the duo of Alba Linares (piano) and Carmen Vilanova (piano), as well as the saxophone quartet composed of Pol Del Moral (soprano sax), Bernat Valls (alto sax), Berta Ballesté (tenor sax), and Oriol Martínez Floro (baritone sax).
All participants were selected by their respective departments in several selection phases leading up to this grand final, which showcased the high level of the students trained in our classrooms. Additionally, the winners will perform in the next season of the Liceu Jove concert series.
On June 3, the Final of the Extraordinary Prizes for the Jazz and Modern Music Department will be held.
The Liceu Conservatori Foundation congratulates the finalists and, especially, the winners of each category.