Carl Nielsen International Competition

16/06/2026

The winner of the Carl Nielsen International Competition 2026 for flute is:

🪈🏆 FEDERICO ALTARE 🏆🪈

Congratulations on a splendid and well-deserved first prize to Federico. 🥇 We are VERY excited to welcome you back to our stage as a soloist in the 2027 season.

The second and third prizes went to:

🪈 🥈 Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez
🪈 🥉 Ethan Nylander

Congratulations also to Sofía and Ethan for their impressively beautiful performances on stage tonight.

It was a hair-raising experience to witness a concert of that kind and at that level repeated three times. 👏👏👏

The two works of the evening require both technical prowess, virtuosity, precision, elegance and a heartfelt, musical understanding of both Mozart's charming rondo in C major and Carl Nielsen's kaleidoscopic and mercurial flute concerto, where the soloist must navigate a quarrel with the bass trombone, a polite conversation with the clarinet, a romantic duet with the viola - and a dramatic cadence over a timpani roll. 🎶🥰

I'm sure that all of us, in the concert hall and in front of the live streaming or radio at home, can quickly agree that all three finalists delivered both musicality and virtuosity to the brim. 🙌

The two special awards of the evening went to:

🏅 Junior Jury Award: Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez
🏅 Orchestra Prize: Federico Altare

A warm congratulations to Federico Altare for the title of Carl Nielsen Competition 2026 winner. 🏆

And thanks to the Odense Symphony Orchestra, conductor Anna-Maria Helsing and emcee Isabella Hübener for having competently and heartily supported our three talented finalists.

See you again at next year's Carl Nielsen Competition for clarinet. 🎶❤️

16/06/2026

🏆 The Finals are here! Come watch with us 🤗

This year's finalists are:

✨ Sofia Petterson-Gutiérrez (21)
✨ Federico Altare (29)
✨ Ethan Nylander (25)

📺 Watch live:

Read more about the competitors: https://odensesymfoni.dk/watch-live/

16/06/2026

And last but not least, meet our talented finalist Federico Altare, explaining here a little bit about how he prepares to perform at the highest level again and again in a competition of such magnitude as the Carl Nielsen International Competition. 🪈🎼💖

📹: Adamngoodproduction

16/06/2026

Meet another of our talented finalists, Ethan Nylander, and hear why he switched from trumpet to flute at age 9. 🎺➡️🪈💖

📹: Adamngoodproduction

15/06/2026

Meet one of our talented finalists, Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez, and hear how she experienced being part of the Carl Nielsen International Competition - and spending a week in Odense. 😃🪈💖

📹: Adamngoodproduction

14/06/2026

After a splendid evening with fantastic performances by all six of our semifinalists, the following three contestants have advanced to the finals on Tuesday (and will be playing in this order):

✨ Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez

✨ Federico Altare

✨ Ethan Nylander

We warmly congratulate the three finalists and extend our sincerest thank you to all six amazing semifinalists for sharing their artistry, dedication and music with us tonight. 🎶❤️

14/06/2026

The semifinals of the Carl Nielsen International Competition are here! 🪈🎶🏆

In this video, our Chilean semi-finalist Manuel Astudillo Quintero (who lives in Belgium) tells us how he experienced the encounter with Carl Nielsen's music - which of course in his case has primarily been about the flute concerto, which is on the program for the finals on Tuesday.

Good luck to all semi-finalists! 🤞 Tonight at around 10.30 p.m., we will announce the names of the three who have advanced to the finals. 🎶❤️

📹: Adamngoodproduction

14/06/2026

🎶 The semifinals are here!

After two days of rehearsals with the orchestra, the six semifinalists are ready to take the stage tonight.

Join us for an exciting program, where each candidate will present a self-chosen solo work followed by one of the two C.P.E. Bach flute concertos:

• Flute Concerto in D minor, Wq 22 (H. 425)
• Flute Concerto in G major, Wq 169 (H. 445)

We are delighted to welcome Isabella Hübener as tonight’s host, guiding us through this special evening of music.

📺 Tune in at 18:00 (CEST) and join us live from Odense Concert Hall!

12/06/2026

The following candidates have advanced to the semifinals of the competition:

✨ Top row from left: Judy Lee, Ethan Nylander, Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez

✨ Bottom row from left: Nikolai Song, Federico Altare, Manuel Astudillo Quintero

We congratulate the six semi-finalists - and thank all 12 participants in the second round for an impressive performance throughout the week. 👏👏👏

On Sunday, the semifinalists will be performing in this order:

🪈 Manuel Astudillo Quintero
🪈 Federico Altare
🪈 Nikolai Song
🪈 Judy Lee
🪈 Ethan Nylander
🪈 Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez

12/06/2026

🎶🪈Second day of the Second Round!

Are you following the competition on our livestream? 🤗

Tune in and join us as our contestants continue their journey through the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition.

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