Andersen Viana awarded in musical contest in Chile

Multi-artist Andersen Viana, winner of over 50 international awards, achieved 2nd place at the XII International Composition Competition for Orchestra – Festival Puente, held in Chile. The contest is one of Latin America’s most prestigious and competitive.

About the contest

Created by the Orquesta Marga Marga, founded in 2010 by Luís José Recart, the competition is in its 12th edition, with composers from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia. Three works were selected for public performance on November 13, 2025, at Palacio Vergara in Viña del Mar.

The international jury awarded Andersen Viana 2nd place for the work Mensagens. Maestro José Luís Recart stated: “The piece is incredible. Its Tocado-Cantado technique produces a magical, spectacular, and powerful timbre. Andersen is a source of pride for Latin America.”

About the awarded work “Mensagens”

Mensagens is a complex string orchestra piece in four movements, lasting 18 minutes. It dialogues with Andersen Viana’s previous works and Arnold Schoenberg’s structures.

The composition employs string techniques such as double, triple, quadruple stops, natural and artificial harmonics, collegno, Bartok pizzicato, sul ponticello, mute, and various combinations, interacting with the rhythmic style of Igor Stravinsky and themes of Dimitri Shostakovich.

The piece concludes by restating the initial motive of Movement I as a coda, alternating monody, polyphony, and micropolyphony, with extensive use of chromaticism, polytonality, and atonality.

International recognition in the USA

Another work by Andersen, written for choir, Ùltimas Palavras, addressing police violence in the USA and Brazil, was selected among 600 entries for the 1st New Music Biennale at the University of Heidelberg, USA.

A demonstration recording of Ùltimas Palavras can be listened to at: https://soundcloud.com/vianabr2005/ultimas-palavras-by-andersen“>https://soundcloud.com/vianabr2005/ultimas-palavras-by-andersen