Double success for accordion class
Two 1st prizes for Mihail Cunetchi and Daniel Roth in Mons, Belgium
Every two years, an international accordion competition takes place in the charming tourist town of Mons in Belgium. The "Accordéons-nous" competition was held for the fifth time from 19 to 23 April - and two accordion students of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar from the class of Prof. Claudia Buder won first prizes. The "Prix Accordéons-nous" in the classical category was won by Mihail Cunetchi. His fellow student from Weimar, Daniel Roth, was successful with 1st prize in the "Variety Senior" category, which covers a range of different jazz styles.
"I am very happy to have received the 1st prize, combined with the wonderful opportunity to premiere the work 'Oppression' by Loris Douyez with L'Orchestre d'ARTS2," says Mihail Cunetchi. "While more experimental sounds and colours went into my programme, it still had to meet the demands of a programme characterised by fluency," Daniel Roth explains the challenges of his category. "The double success is a special honour for us because it is a sign of stylistic diversity at the highest artistic level," adds accordion professor Claudia Buder.
The "Accordéons-nous" competition in Mons not only appealed to different age groups in numerous categories, but also to a wide variety of styles (classical, jazz, world music, etc.). Accordionists from Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, China, Kazakhstan and other countries came to participate. The competition was part of a large international festival, which presented numerous artists from the scene in accompanying concerts. The supreme discipline: the "Prix Accordéons-nous" with its three rounds. The finale was the premiere of an accordion concerto with orchestra.
Mihail Cunetchi, born in 1996 in the Republic of Moldova, received his first accordion lessons at the age of ten at the music school in his hometown of Dubasari. In 2018, he began his Bachelor's studies at the Universtiy of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar in the class of Prof. Claudia Buder. The Weimar aesthetics of accordion playing opened up new avenues of playing and teaching for the accordion student.
The 26-year-old attended numerous workshops and master classes with renowned musicians such as Markus Stockhausen, Veli Kujala and Hugo Noth, among others. He has been teaching at the Alfred Wagner Municipal Music School in Suhl since 2019 and has been an honorary teacher at the Wilhelm Buchbinder Municipal and District Music School in Sömmerda since 2020.
Daniel Roth studied accordion with Ivan Koval, Claudia Buder and Veli Kujala in Weimar and Helsinki. Born in Neunkirchen, the 26-year-old is expanding his instrumental portfolio to include the disciplines of composition and arrangement for a wide variety of instrumentations. He has already received several grants and prizes, including the Franz Liszt Prize 2022, the Charlotte Krupp Scholarship or the Germany Scholarship.
Further awards were the sponsorship prize of the Society for Music Theory at the Improvisation Competition 2022 and the 1st prize at the "Tina Anguissola Scotti" competition for chamber music in Italy, as the duo con:trust together with Marius Staible. He regularly gives lectures and seminars in the field of music theory and improvisation and is in close contact with the classical and entertainment music scene in Germany, Finland, Russia and France.
[28 April 2023]