Success for Trio Rafale in Osaka
The Swiss trio Rafale, which has already won several awards, has scored another major success in Osaka, Japan: It wins the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in the piano trio and quartet category.
Trio Rafale impressed the jury with their rendition of Schubert's second piano trio. Second place in the piano trio and quartet category went to the German Notos Quartet and third place to the French Trio Atanssov.
The competition is held every three years in the string quartet and piano trio/quartet categories. The Romanian Arcadia Quartet won in the string quartet category. The first prizes are endowed with 25,000 Swiss francs each and enable a concert tour of Japan.
The Rafale Trio, consisting of Maki Wiederkehr (piano), Daniel Meller (violin) and Flurin Cuonz (cello), has been coached by Eckart Heiligers at the Hochschule in Zurich and at master classes in Ochsenhausen since September 2009.
It has already won several prestigious prizes. These include 1st prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (July 2011), 2nd prize at the Concours international de musique de chambre in Lyon (April 2011) and 1st prize at the Concours national pour Trio instrumental Prix Geraldine Whittaker of the Jeunesses Musicales de Suisse (2010).
