Bella Adamova and pianist Malte Schäfer successful at the Graz competition

Mezzo-soprano Bella Adamova in duo with pianist Malte Schäfer won second prize in their category at the 11th International Chamber Music Competition "Franz Schubert and Contemporary Music" in Graz. The first prize was not awarded and the second place is shared by
with the Portuguese duo André Baleiro (baritone) & Pedro Costa (piano).

This is another recent success for Bella Adamova. At the beginning of July she won the 55th edition of the prestigious singing competition in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, in the oratorio category.

The Austrian competition gives special emphasis on contemporary works. For the semi-finals, the duo Adamova - Schäfer chose Bernhard Lang's Lass mich weinen (from Songbook III), and in the final they performed On White Meadows by the English composer Judith Weir. The four best duos in the final had only two days to prepare it. "We are absolutely thrilled to win! We were able to show what is possible in the final, apart from beautiful lyrical songs, and we gave it our all. We really enjoyed our performance!", comments Bella Adamova.

For the final Bella Adamova and Malte Schäfer chose songs by A. Schnittke, F. Schubert, S. Wolpe, G. Kurtág and B. Scheuer.

The selection can be heard at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtQasQ6CIkE&list=PLvF9YrQGkaLPxLTaTSUh2gL6XLZOH9HRr&index=4