Colin Cooper in Classical Guitar Magazine, March 2005

Christian Haimel, from Austria, deservedly won the second prize with convincing performances of Giuliani's Rossiniana No.1 and Brouwer's Sonata this latter perhaps the most-played contemporary work of the moment. The march in the Giuliani was hammered out with such verve that I almost felt like saluting the nearest flag, but it was lyrical as well. There was an urgency in the Brouwer piece that kept the stresses of over-familiarity at bay. In the semi-final Haimel had given one of the best performances of Walton's Bagatelles I have ever heard. For once, the con slancio (dashing, bounding, leaping) direction was obeyed to the letter; this was the Walton of Belshazzar's Feast, and I’m sure Walton would have loved it.

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