The 2007 competition

The International Paulo Cello Competition was held for the fourth time in 2007. A record number of cellists, 77 from 31 countries, submitted recordings for the Qualifying Round, and 26 were selected for the First Round.

The competition repertoire consisted of a recital of works of the contestant’s own choice and three concertos. The First Round was held at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki. The Second Round and the Finals took place uniquely in five cities and with five orchestras. The 12 competitors qualifying for the Second Round performed with the Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, the Kuopio or the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. The six finalists were soloists with the Tapiola Sinfonietta (Espoo) and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Helsinki).

The Competition was open to cellists of all nationalities aged 16–33. The first prize was €15 000 and the other prizes totalled €27 000. Two special prizes, a Raphaël Sommer Memorial Prize of €1 400 and a prize of €1 000 donated by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, were also awarded.

I prize, Andreas Brantelid, Sweden/Denmark
II prize, Béatrice Reibel, France
III prize, Nicolas Altstaedt, Germany/France
IV prize(ex aequo), Samuli Peltonen, Finland and Janina Ruh, Germany
VI prize, Silver Ainomäe, Finland/Estonia

Additional special prizes:

The Raphaël Sommer Memorial Prize: Andreas Brantelid The Finnish
Broadcasting Company Prize: Stefano Cerrato, Italy

Jury

Arto Noras, President, Finland
Lluís Claret, Spain
Min Ja Hyun, South Korea
Maria Kliegel, Germany
Ivan Monighetti, Switzerland/Russia
Philippe Muller, France
Leslie Parnas, USA
Martti Rousi, Finland
Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, USA/Japan