
Since 2016 Virtuoso & Belcanto has hosted advanced courses held by world-famous maestri who teach masterclasses for each particular instrument. The festival’s competitions, limited to registered students, grant first, second, and third prizes to each instrument category included in the masterclasses, in addition to awards for ensembles, string quartets, chamber orchestras, and belcanto.
2016 Awards
2016 Season
from July 25 to August 6, 2016
TEACHERS:
Piano
Boris Berman, Marian Hahn, Wei-Yi Yang
Fortepiano
Riccardo Cecchetti
Violin
Benjamin Schmid, Jan Bjøranger, Luigi De Filippi, Maria Solozobova
Viola
Paul Cortese, Lars Anders Tomter
Cello
Clemens Hagen, Sandro Meo, Marianne Chen
Ensembles in residence
1B1 orchestra – leader Jan Bjøranger
1B1 tutors
Benedicte Kyllingstad – violino / Wouter Raubenheimer – viola / Ilmari Hopkins – violoncello / Ivan Zavgorodniy – contrabbasso
Voces Intimae piano trio
Riccardo Cecchetti, pianoforte / Luigi De Filippi, violino / Sandro Meo, violoncello
COMPETITIONS 2016
Here are the winners:
Violin competition – dedicated to Niccolò Paganini
1° prize: Pascale Rouilly (Switzerland)
2° prize: Achille Vocat (France)
3° prize ex-aequo: Bora Kim (한국) – Adriàn Fernàndez Moreno (Spain)
Piano competition – dedicated to Franz Liszt
1° prize : Yannick Van De Velde (Belgium)
2° prize ex-aequo: Chengcheng Yao (中国) – Sun-A Park (한국)
3° prize ex-aequo: Sophiko Simsive (საქართველო) – Christian De Luca (Italy)
Menzione d’onore: Madoka Fukami (日本)
Chamber music competition – Luigi Boccherini Award
1° prize: Trio San Francisco
Shelby Yamin (violin – USA), Saul Richmond-Rakerd (cello – USA), Yilin Liu (piano – (中国))
2° prize: not awarded
3° prize ex-aequo: Duo Nazar Fedyuk (violin – Україна) e Kaili Ho (piano – 中華民國) / Duo Danilo Oliveira (violin – Brasil) e Aidan Boase (piano – Australia)
2017 Awards
2017 season from July 16 to August 5, 2017
During the 2017 season, the CHINA PIANO PROJECT took place as part of the China-Europe (Italy) International Arts Festival from July 24-31
2017 China-Europe (Italy) International Arts Festival
Teachers:
Ross Craigmile, Salvador Carbó, Elena de la Merced, David Rendall, Miquel Ramon
Festival 2017 took place from july 25 to august 5
TEACHERS:
Violin
Kyu-Young Kim, Maria Solozobova, Luigi De Filippi, Jan Bjøranger, Eszter Haffner
Viola
Paul Cortese, Bruno Giuranna, Lars Anders Tomter
Cello
Sandro Meo, Ilmari Hopkins, Alain Meunier, Torleif Thedéen
Double bass
Alberto Bocini, Gabriele Ragghianti
Piano
Marian Hahn, Yejin Gil, Wei-Yi Yang, Boris Berman, Christian Ihle Hadland
Fortepiano
Riccardo Cecchetti
Ensembles in residence
1B1 orchestra – Jan Bjøranger – leader
Voces Intimae piano trio
Riccardo Cecchetti, pianoforte / Luigi De Filippi, violino / Sandro Meo, violoncello
COMPETITIONS 2017
Here are the winners:
Chamber music Luigi Boccherini award
1° prize: Duo Marie Viard (France) – Liliia Khusnullina (Россия)
2° prize: Trio Anna Marila (Finland) / Clara Lindenbaum (Austria) / Dongwon Lee (한국)
3° prize: Quartetto Archos Special Adolfo Betti Award 2017 offered by Animando – Music Promotion
Cello competition dedicated to Luigi Boccherini
1° prize: Giedrius Zukauskas (Lithuania)
2° prize: not awarded
3° prize: Daniil Zimin (Россия)
3° prize: Marie Viard (France)
3° prize: Alexander Avramchik (Беларусь)
Violin competition dedicated to Paganini
1° prize: Michaël Serra (France) – Paganini Capricci no. 1 e 21 Violin from an Italian workshop (Fabio Piagentini, Violin maker)
2° prize: Yingchen Zhang (中国)
3° prize: Miriam Davis (United Kingdom)
Piano competition dedicated to Liszt
1° prize: Sophiko Simsive (საქართველო) Offered by Richard & Maria Allwine
2° prize: Nansong Huang (中国)
3° prize: Sun-A Park (USA/한국)
3° prize: Anthony Ratinov (USA)
Honorable mention: Mykita Burzanitsa (Україна)
2018 Awards
Season 2018 from June 25 to July 29
Every year Virtuoso & Belcanto is enriched with ideas, projects, and workshops.
In 2018, it was the debut of the Opera Project from June 25 to July 7.
Dedicated to singing, the project was carried out in cooperation with the Teatro del Giglio of Lucca and the Danish platform Trulinked. Com. The Opera Project, made up of courses, encounters, and concerts was created for the purpose of discovering new opera singers who will go on to participate in next season’s lyric opera productions at the Giglio Theater.
Teachers:
David Rendall, tenor – Dimitra Theodossiou , soprano – Salvador Carbò, tenor.
The students had repertoire coaching by Ross Craigmile e Massimo Morelli;
Theater arts, Aldo Tarabella and Dongmi Grace Lee
Instrumental Festival from July 17 to 29, 2018
TEACHERS:
Violin
Ani Kavafian, Eszter Haffner, Jan Bjøranger, Luigi De Filippi, Bård Monsen
Viola
Bruno Giuranna, Paul Cortese
Cello
Alain Meunier, Xenia Jankovic, Adrian Brendel, Sandro Meo, Ilmari Hopkins
Piano
Boris Berman, Ian Jones, Wei-Yi Yang, Yejin Gil
Fortepiano
Riccardo Cecchetti
String Quartet
Luc-Marie Aguera (Quartetto Ysaye)
WORKSHOPS
Chamber orchestra
Led by Jan Bjøranger
Classical Experience
Voces Intimae
Riccardo Cecchetti, fortepiano / Luigi De Filippi, violin / Sandro Meo, cello
Season 2018 COMPETITIONS
The awards for this season were offered by the sponsors of the event.
1. Piano Competition – dedicated to F. Liszt
- 1° prize: Offered by Richard & Maria Allwine
- 2° prize: Offered by Ego Wellness Resort
- 3° prize: Offered by Fabio Francesconi Srl
2. Violin Competition – dedicated to N. Paganini
- 1° prize: Violin offered by Cremona International School of Violin Making
- 3° prize: Offered by Musicherie di Antonio Bonacchi
3. Viola Competition – dedicated to A. Rolla
- 1° prize: Offered by the Piero Farulli Association – La Musica un bene da restituire ONLUS plus one viola offered by the Lucchi Foundation
4. Cello Competition – dedicated to L. Boccherini
- 1° prize: Bow by Jean-Luc Tauziede – Offered by the bowmaker
- 2° prize: Bow offered by the Lucchi Foundation
5. Chamber Music Competition – Luigi Boccherini Award
- Adolfo Betti Award for best string quartet : offered by Animando e the Association Lucchesi nel Mondo.
Here are the winners from 2018
Piano
1° prize: Gabriele Strata – Italia
2° prize: Thomas Kelly – Uk
3° prize ex-aequo : Wenting Shi (中国) , Nurry Lee (한국)
Chamber Music
1° prize ex-aequo : Duo Haim Choi (한국), vl. – Thomas Kelly (United Kingdom), pf. and Duo Yannick Van de Velde (Belgium), pf. – Wending Shi (中国), pf.
2° prize ex-aequo : Quartetto Elmire (France) – Cyprien Brod, vl., Kho-nam Nguyen, vl., Issey Nadaud, vla., Rémi Carlon, vc. and Quartetto Werther (Italy) – Misia Nannoni Sebastianini, vl., Martina Santarone, vla., Simone Chiominto, vc., Antonino Fiumara, pf.
3° prize ex-aequo : Quartetto Archos – Filip Jeska, vl. (Poland) – Mikolaj Pokora, vl. (Poland) – Radenko Kostadinov, vla. (България) – Francesca Fiore, vc. (Italy) e Le Bateau Ivre (France) – Samuel Casale, fl. (Italy) – Séréna Manganas, vl. (France) – Valentin Chiapello, vla. (France) – Kevin Bourdat, vc. (Francia), Jean-Baptiste Haye, arpa (France)
Violin
1° prize: Marianne De Tomaso (Canada)
2° prize ex-aequo: Samuel Andonian (USA) – Jonathan Masaki Schwarz (Germany) – Gregory Lewis (Canada)
3° prize: Ezo Dem Sarici (United Kingdom) – Joakim Røbershagen (Norway)
Viola
1° prize: Daniele Valabrega (Italy)
2° prize ex-aequo : Claudio Laureti (Italy) – Xavier Rotger Bonnin (Spain)
3° prize: Marzena Malinowska (Poland)
Cello
1° prize: Anna Garde (France)
2° prize: Daniel Schultz (Finland)
3° prize: Klavs Jankevics (Latvia)
2019 Awards
Season 2019, from July 16 to 28, 2019
Every year Virtuoso & Belcanto is enriched with ideas, projects, and workshops.
In 2019, it was the great event of Maestro Alfred Brendel, conducting in person a special workshop for chamber music string quartets.
TEACHERS:
Violin
Stephan Picard, Andrej Bielow, Hagai Shaham, Eszter Haffner, Jan Bjøranger, Luigi De Filippi, Bård Monsen
Viola
Bruno Giuranna, Paul Cortese, Lars Anders Tomter
Cello
Alain Meunier, Claudio Bohórquez, Xenia Jankovic, Adrian Brendel, Sandro Meo, Ilmari Hopkins
Piano
Boris Berman, Péter Nagy, Mi-Joo Lee, Ian Jones, Wei-Yi Yang, Yejin Gil
Fortepiano
Riccardo Cecchetti
String Quartet
Alfred Brendel, Luc-Marie Aguera (Quartetto Ysaye)
WORKSHOPS
Chamber orchestra
workshops led by Jan Bjøranger
Classical Experience workshops
Voces Intimae
Riccardo Cecchetti, fortepiano / Luigi De Filippi, violin / Sandro Meo, cello
Season 2019 COMPETITIONS
The awards for this season were offered by the sponsors of the event.
1. Piano Competition – dedicated to F. Liszt
- 1° prize: Offered by Richard & Maria Allwine
- 2° prize: Offered by Ego Wellness Resort
- 3° prize: Offered by Fabio Francesconi Srl
2. Violin Competition – dedicated to N. Paganini
- 1° prize: Bow, signed by Lucchi & Sons, offered by Fondazione Lucchi
- 3° prize: Offered by Musicherie di Antonio Bonacchi
3. Viola Competition – dedicated to A. Rolla
- 1° prize: Viola offered by Tommaso Pedani
- 2° & 3° prize: Offered by Locanda Tre Merli and InPasta Cibo e Convivio
4. Cello Competition – dedicated to L. Boccherini
- 1° prize: Bow by Jean-Luc Tauziede – Offered by the bowmaker
- 2° prize: Bow offered by Giovanni Magnani
5. Chamber Music Competition – Luigi Boccherini Award
- Adolfo Betti Award for best string quartet : offered by Animando
Here are the winners from 2019
Piano
1° prize: not assigned
2° prize: Muzi Zhao, China, 1998
3° prize: ex-aequo – Junjie Zhang, China, 1994; Hehuan Yu, China, 1995
Violin
1° prize: Anna Agafia Egholm, Denmark, 1996
2° prize: Yu-Fan Huang, Taiwan, 1996
3° prize: Seung-Hyun Kang, Corea del Sud, 1998
Honourable Mention: Emma Mali, Suomi Finland, 1996; Gustav Rømark, Norway, 2001
Viola
1° prize: Claudio Laureti, Italy, 1994
2° prize: ex aequo – Njord Kårason Fossnes, Norway, 2001; Marzena Malinowska, Poland, 1991; Alexander McFarlane, New Zeland, 1995
Cello
1° prize: Pedro Silva, Portugal, 1995
2° prize: Cho Ki Jacky Siu, New Zealand, 1996
3° prize: ex aequo – Michael Cantù USA 1999; Ilay Dahan Israel 1997; Antonio Pellegrino Italy, 1997
Chamber Music
1° prize: Leonkoro Quartet
Leonkoro Quartet: violins – Jonathan Schwarz, Germany, 1996; Mayu Konoe, Japan, 1997; viola – Marzena Malinowska, Poland, 1991; cello – Lukas Schwarz, Germany, 1998
2° prize: Arctic Trio
Arctic Trio: violin – Gustav Rørmark, Norway, 2001; viola – Njord Kårason Fossnes, Norway, 2001; cello – Balder Hella Mikkelsen, Norway, 2001
3° prize: Quatuor Bergen
Quatuor Bergen: violins – Mathilde Klein, France, 1996; Sakkan Sarasap, Thailand, 1994; viola – Mirabelle Le Thomas, France, 1995; cello – Magdalena Probe, Poland, 1990
Adolfo Betti prize: Leonkoro Quartet
Honourable Mention: Giuliano Sinani Duo
Giuliano Sinani Duo: cello – Daryl Giuliano, Canada, 1990; piano – Julia Mametyeva (Sinani), Russia, 1991
Special prize – selection for Berlin
Gabriele Strata
Virtuoso & Belcanto
Nonostante le distanze la musica ha unito tutti e vi siamo grati per la fiducia che avete riposto nel nostro festival.
Non abbiamo voluto rinunciare ad una foto di gruppo con le foto di alcuni di voi! ❤️🎶
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Thanks to all the participants of 2020's Virtuoso & Belcanto's extraordinary edition! ✨
Despite the distance music connected all of us and we thank you for trusting us in such difficult time.
We didn't want to give up on a photo of the group with the pictures that some of you sent! ❤️🎶
#virtuosoconnected
