INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION VALSESIA MUSICA

XXIII  VALSESIA MUSICA INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 2007

VIOLIN  SECTION

On Friday, 18^th May, the numerous public that filled the Societa’ Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso Theatre in Grignasco paid honour to the finalists  of the 23^rd Valsesia Musica International Competition’s section for violin and orchestra, which has registered one of the highest overall qualitative levels in the history of the Association.

Following a welcome by Grignasco’s Culture Councillor, Annita Guglielmina and Mayor, Claudia Vinzio’s invitation to continue in the synergy between the Associazione Culturale Valsesia Musica and the town of Grignasco in the name of music, Maestro Balzani, Artistic Director of the competition, illustrated a novelty introduced in this edition: the chance given to the competitors of playing several extremely valuable violins, put at their disposal by the Association “Il Cerchio Armonico” of Milan, which had also arranged an interactive exhibition, thanks to the fundamental contribution of the Comunita’ Montana Valsesia through the competent Councillor, Paolo Casagrande.

With exceptional talent, virtuosity, temperament and artistic maturity, the five young (and in one case, very young) finalists measured up to some of the most demanding pages of violin literature of all time: the Concerto in A Major K 219 by Mozart, Paganini’s Concerto no. 1 in D Major Op.6, Concerto in D Major Op. 77 by Brahms, Concerto in D Major Op. 35 by Tchaikovsky and Concerto in D Minor Op. 47 by Sibelius, expertly  accompanied by the “Mihail Jora” Philharmonic of Bacau directed by Maestro Ovidiu Balan.

At the end of the Grignasco evening (confirmation of an intense week of auditions which took place at the Civic Theatre in Varallo and which saw as protagonists sixty competitors representing some twenty different nations), the Jury, presided over by Roman violinist, Rodolfo Bonucci, and composed of Vincenzo Balzani, Adrian Ceapa, Felice Cusano, Lindita Hoxha, Giorgio Molteni and Luis Salomon announced the awaited verdict:

Absolute 1st Prize of Euro 8,000 offered by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Vercelli to the twenty-one year-old Austrian of Russian origins, Alexander SOROKOW (insuperable in measuring up to the difficulties of the compelling and celebrated Tchaikovsky Concerto).

Ex-Aequo 2^nd Prize to the eighteen year-old Milanese, Francesca DEGO (placed second in the 2005 edition and today reconfirmed at an extremely high level with a convincing interpretation of Sibelius’ emotional Concerto) and the twenty-two year-old Pole, Jaroslaw NADRZYCKI (already multiple prize-winner in some of the major international competitions, and today masterly performer of the exacting  Brahms Concerto), the Euro 4,000 prize offered by the town of Grignasco being equally divided between them.

3rd Prize of Euro 2,000 offered by the Associazione Culturale Valsesia Musica, was awarded to twenty year-old Agnieszka GUZ from Poland (impeccable in the execution of Concerto in A Major by Mozart).

4th Prize went to the surprising Hildegarde FESNEAU from France (authentic revelation of the competition in demonstrating, at only eleven years of age, absolute authority in the arduous virtuosity inherent in the supremely difficult Concerto No. 1 by Paganini), who was awarded Euro 1,000, offered by the town of Grignasco.

Special Prize of Euro 1,000 offered by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Vercelli to the best Italian candidate in the competition went to Francesca DEGO.

President of the Republic’s Silver Medal, destined for the youngest and most promising talent among those not admitted to the Final, went to the sixteen year-old Vibonese, Greta MEDINI.

VALSESIA  MUSICA  2007

8th INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

MONTEROSA – KAWAI PRIZE

Xianji Liao, twenty year-old Chinese pianist, and Lev Iomdin, twenty-two year-old Russian violinist, are the winners of the 8^th Valsesia Musica Juniors International  Competition Monterosa – KAWAI Prize, which took place on Saturday, June 2^nd and Sunday, June 3^rd at the Civic Theatre in Varallo, which is the fruit of the ten-year collaboration between the Associazione Culturale Valsesia Musica and Furcht Pianos of Milan (official importer for Italy of the prestigious Japanese piano house, KAWAI).

The two musicians, successfully measuring up to some of the most difficult pages of existing repertory for piano and violin, respectively Listz’s “Reminiscenze dal Don Giovanni” and concerto No. 1 for violin and orchestra by Shostakovich, enthralled the audience and totally convinced the jury (Lindita Hoxha and Georgi Trendafiloff presided over by Maestro Vincenzo Balzani), who decided to divide equally between them the final prize of Euro 2,500.

The results of the 2007 edition have shown to be extremely positive by virtue of the exceptional talent demonstrated by the winners and by the record participation: almost sixty young and very young musicians from all over the world as proof of a constant and increasing reputation, as was emphasized during the final evening by the Artistic Director of the competition, Maestro Vincenzo Balzani, the President of the Associazione Culturale Valsesia Musica, Guido Crevola, the Deputy Mayor of Varallo, Enrica Longhetti and Comunita’ Montana Valsesia’s, Culture Councillor, Paolo Casagrande.

As well as the two final winners, particularly distinguished were the twenty-two year-old Venetian, Francesca Vidal (best Italian in the competition as well as, during the preliminary phase, together with the Chinese, Liao, best of the pianists) and the young girl from Prague, Nora Novotna’, who at only 11 years of age executed her own composition that will be part of a CD by “Suonare News” of pieces written and played by children, entitled “For Children”.

The Commission also assigned the following other first prizes:

Maria Altshuller (8 years, Russia/Canada) piano section category A; Zora Novotna’ (12 years, Czek Republic) piano section category C; Mikhail Kalyakin (11 years, Russia) piano section category C; Julia Maria Sliwa (16 years, Austria) piano section category D; Miwa Hoyano (23 years, Japan) piano section category F;

Rika Ikemura (14 years, Japan) strings section category D; Marcello Miramonti (14 years, Italy) strings section category D; Nikolay Shugaev (19 years, Russia) strings section category E; Leila Shirvani (15 years, Italy) strings section category F.