Composer Avner Hanani
צילום: RNCM
'Born' to compose
Composer Avner Hanani takes first prize at international competition held in France for his woodwind instrument piece, 'Wind Borne'
A piece by the young Israeli composer Avner Hanani has taken first place at the Coups De Vents competition, which took place for the third year in a row in the French town of Lille. The competition, sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture, received 257 pieces from composers worldwide.
The contest aims to expand the existing repertoire for symphonies performed by woodwind instruments. There were four finalists, out of which the judges chose to award the grand prize of 10,000 euros to Hanani's piece, entitled "Wind Borne".
"Regarding the classic woodwind repertoire and the modern writing tradition, I felt this piece was different than the rest of those that reached the final stage," Hanani told Ynet. "I didn't know what to expect and I am very happy about winning the prize, especially since this was a very respectable contest."
Hanani is a 34-year old native of Jerusalem who studied at musical academies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In the IDF he served as an excelling musician, and went on to perform as a solo artist with orchestras in the US and Israel. Among these are the Jerusalem Orchestra and Utah's symphonic orchestra.
The young musician also participated as a composer and pianist in artist workshops hosted by famous musicians such as Steve Reich and James McMillan. During Reich's 70th birthday the celebrating composer commended Hanani on his work, saying, "Hanani's pieces are the pieces of an extraordinarily talented composer, with a polished and flowing ability."
Hanani currently resides in England. A number of his pieces are scheduled to be released by the British Studio Music and the American Boosey and Hawkes.
