The winners of the First Jean Sibelius Composition Competition were announced in Hämeenlinna, Finland on Wednesday March 25.

The first prize of each category worth 10 000 euros each went to:

• Works for choir: Rafael Miranda Huereca from Mexico for the work Azul de Lontananza
• Violin compositions: Hyun-jun Park from South Korea for the work Another Candenza
• Piano compositions: Ignazio Brasa Gutiérrez from Spain for the work Fado-Gestalt. 

The competition had 639 entries. The members of the jury were Kaija Saariaho (chairman), Mark Andre, Liza Lim, Magnus Lindberg and Jukka Tiensuu.

The aim of the competition is to gain new, high-quality repertoire for choirs, pianists and violinists. Its goal is to be an important event nationally and internationally and to emphasize the idea of continuous creativity, one of the main themes of the Sibelius anniversary year.