Young composer Georgi Sztojanov (BU/HU, 1985) has been awarded the 2014 Tenso Young Composers Award. Together with Francesca Le Lohé (UK, 1990) and Nuno Da Rocha (PT, 1986), he was selected for the second round of the Tenso Young Composers Workshop 2014 which took place in Copenhagen on 27 and 28 November. In the workshop, the young composers worked with DR Vokalensemblet and workshop leaders James Wood (UK) and Hans Koolmees (NL). The Tenso Young Composers Award 2014 consists of a commission fee of € 1500, for a new work to be premiered in the upcoming season by one of Tenso member choirs.
In their evaluation, the jury wrote about Georgi Sztojanov:
“Georgi Sztojanov ( Bulgaria/ Hungary, 1985) brought very interesting experiments to the workshops. It is clear that he feels completely at ease with the natural flow of the language, and his settings of WWI postcard scribbles are poignant and effective. The jury would like to see him move away from the intense harmonic density he now often uses as an expressional tool, and advises him to rely more on his – clearly strong – sense for melody and rhythm, taking the text as point of departure. Also, being a singer himself, he sometimes caters too much to the needs and wishes of vocalists; while the jury cheers the fact that he gives the performers and the performability of his music prime position, they still want to encourage him to cross boundaries and not to be afraid to challenge the singers.”
- Read the full jury report here (pdf).
- Listen to run-throughs of the first round sessions (Soundcloud)
- Meet all six participants of the 2014 edition