On the beat
COMPETITIONS
Affinity Quartet
Mio Imai
Christian McBride
AFFINITY QUARTET PHOTO JAMES GRANT. MIO IMAI PHOTO COURTESY IL PICCOLO VIOLINO MAGICO. MCBRIDE PHOTO EBRU YILDIZ
1 On 9 July the Affinity Quartet took home first prize and AUD30,000 (£15,800) at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. The Madrid-based quartet comprises violinists Josephine Chung and Nicholas Waters, violist Ruby Shirres and cellist Mee Na Lojewski. They also won the AUD30,000 Robert Salzer Foundation String Quartet prize and the AUD8,000 Audience Prize. In the Piano Trio category, Trio Orelon (violinist Judith Stapf, cellist Arnau Rovira i Bascompte and pianist Marco Sanna) was awarded the AUD22,500 first prize, as well as the AUD3,000 Trio Commission Prize.