JURY
Piano and piano section 4 hands
Livorno, he graduated under the guidance of Itala Balestri Del Corona with full marks and honours. He then perfected his skills with Ilonka Deckers Kuszler and Antonio Bacchelli, and with Marta Del Vecchio and Dario De Rosa for the chamber and four-hand repertoire, which he regularly practiced together with the solo one. He has distinguished himself in various competitions, first prize at the “F: Liszt” festival and in Osimo, and at the Young Concert Artists Festival in Rome; he also established himself as the best classified in the competition, also dedicated to Liszt, held in Sopron (Hungary) and reserved only for the winners of the various European National Festivals named after this author. He has performed concerts as a soloist, also in Germany and Austria (in particular at the Estérhazy Castle in Eisenstadt), also invited among the pianists who performed in Liszt’s birthplace in Raiding: – He also performed in various chamber ensembles. He attended the Composition Course and also graduated in Philosophy at the University of Pisa with a thesis on Aesthetics. He has held the chair of Principal Piano in various Italian Conservatories and in particular, since 1996 at the “N.Paganini” Conservatory of Genoa. Invited to the jury in various competitions, he collaborates with various institutions, including the Unitre of Alessandria for which he has been a speaker for the History of Music course for years.
Born in Alessandria in 1954. Main piano professor at the A. Vivaldi Conservatory of Alessandria from 1978 to 2019, where he graduated in 1976 with top marks and distinguished honors under the guidance of Maestro Giuseppe Binasco, former student of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Alfred Cortot. He studied composition with Maestro Carlo Mosso and graduated in music teaching with musicologist Lidia Palomba. He has been present on the international concert scene for over fifty years with hundreds of recitals for prestigious organizations and institutions, often accompanied by well-known soloists. Awarded several times in competitions, he won the International Piano Competition “Concours Musical de France” in Paris. Among the various recognitions in his career, he was awarded the “COMMENDA PALESTRINA” in Brazil (the only European concert performer) by the Federal Minister of Education. Also involved in the contemporary music front, there are many works dedicated to him by important Italian and foreign composers and entrusted to the first performance both in concert and in record productions. Invited to juries of national and international competitions, he holds courses, seminars and masterclasses in Italy and abroad.
CATERINA ARZANI performs concerts both as soloist and in chamber ensembles in different Concert Season as among others “Festival Internazionale di Musica da Camera di Cervo”, “Ravenna Festival”, “Rassegna di Musica da Camera di Lugano”, “Teatro Regio Turin”, “Wiener Saal Mozarteum Salzburg, Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Villa Tesoriera in Turin, Stagione Concertistica della Camerata di Cremona, PianoCity Milan, AlbaMusicFestival, Festival Internazionale Pianistico of Spoleto, for l’Associazione Eximia Forma in “Concerti presso Castel Sant’Angelo Rome Sala Paolina di Castel Sant’Angelo and in Palazzo Venezia, Pavia, Bologna, Genoa, Villa Joiosa (Spain), Pistoia, Stresa, for l’Istituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica in Venice and, for “Festival delle Nazioni”, in Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice for Romanian Radio and Television.
She graduated with “10 e lode” at the “Antonio Vivaldi” Conservatory in Alessandria. In 2007 she obtained the Master II degree in Piano, the degree of “l’Accademia Nazionale di Alto Perfezionamento S.Cecilia” in Rome with 10 e lode (teacher Sergio Perticaroli), and then the “Diploma di Perfezionamento Triennale presso l’Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo”. (Teacher Andrea Lucchesini).
She has completed her formation with teachers M. Gachet, P. Bordoni, O. Yablonskaia, D. Merlet.
At the same time, after classical studies, she graduated in Mathematics in Facoltà di Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Naturali “A. Avogadro” University of Alessandria and the certification for teaching Fisics and Mathematics in University of Pavia.
She has won numerous national and international awards, for two consecutive years she won the scholarship for the “Sommerakademie” of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, with teacher Sergio Perticaroli.
She recorded the first concert of Beethoven with the “Orchestra della Compagnia d’Opera Italiana, for the BMG Ricordi. She received the title of “Excelsius Musicae et Pacis nuntius” during the “Eurofestival, concertisti emergent” in Rome, in Palazzo Venezia with the sponsorship of the European Parliament and Unipax.
Always interested about the connection between mathematics and music, she gives lectures about the theme (“(“La Musica dai Pitagorici ai Frattali”, “Sonore simmetrie: la geometria in musica”) in different institutions as for example Politecnico of Turin, Istituto Italiano di Studi filosofici in Neaples, Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Oslo, where she performed the conference-concert “Musica. Arte. Matematica. Simmetrie ed asimmetrie come espressione di Bellezza” in english.
She is actually teacher of Pratica pianistica at the Conservatory “G. Verdi” in Turin.
She is president and artistic director of the “Associazione di Musica e Cultura F. Chopin”.
Chamber music section and soloists
Violinist, violist and composer, he completed his musical studies at the N.Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, graduating in 1984 under the guidance of Renato De Barbieri, and also attending courses at the Sommerakademie of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, again under the guidance of De Barbieri. After the death of his teacher, he continued his studies by following the lessons and masterclasses of Devy Erly of the École Superieure de Musique in Paris and Lewis Kaplan of the Juilliard School in New York. In 1995 he obtained a self-taught diploma in viola at the “Antonio Vivaldi” Conservatory in Alessandria. He began his professional career both as a solo violinist and collaborating with numerous chamber ensembles, including the Trio Esiodos of Rome, while as a violist he was part of the Aurora Quartet of Trieste and currently plays in the Elleboros Quartet of Florence. As a violin teacher he has taught since 1986 at the “L.Canepa” Conservatory of Sassari, since 1990 at the “G.F.Ghedini” Conservatory of Cuneo, since 2000 at the “N.Paganini” Conservatory of Genoa and has held the professorship since 2018 at the “L.Cherubini” Conservatory in Florence. From 2000 to 2004 he was assistant to Lewis Kaplan at the Sommerakademie of the Mozarteum in Salzburg. As a composer he wrote the Requiem “Beati Qui” for mixed choir and orchestra, performed in 2013 in Genoa by the choir and orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice, plus numerous chamber pieces (including the “Fantasia sopra una tregenda” and the “CInque danze Speechless”) which boast numerous performances also abroad. His activity as an orchestra professor, after his first numerous experiences in orchestral ensembles active in traditional theatres, has led him from 1980 (violin in a row at the Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico of Cagliari) to today to collaborate as a supporter of the first violins, as concertino of the first violins, as first of the second violins and occasionally as first viola with numerous opera-symphonic institutions, including the Rai National Orchestra of Milan, the Arena of Verona, “i Pomeriggi Musicali” of Milan, the “Milano Classica” Chamber Orchestra, the “A.Toscanini” Emilia Romagna Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale of Spoleto, the Puccini Festival Foundation, the Carlo Felice of Genoa, the “Luglio Musicale Trapanese”, the National Symphony Orchestra of Tunis, the Chamber Orchestra of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Musical and Symphonic Institution of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Florentine Chamber Orchestra and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Born in Alessandria, he graduated in clarinet at the Conservatory “A. Vivaldi” of Alessandria. Versatile musician, open to various instrumental genres, he studied in particular the recorder and the saxophone. He performs concerts from jazz to classical and baroque chamber repertoire.
He has performed numerous concerts as recorder solo with “G. B. Somis” orchestra, contributing to a rescue and disclosure project of the most significant pages of the Piedmontese baroque composer.
Since 1993, he is teacher of clarinet, saxophone, theory and solfège at various music schools and SMIM in Alessandria district.
Born in 1981, he began his musical studies privately under the guidance of Maria Pia Cabona, to continue in Massimo Gabba’s Organ class at the Diocesan Academy of Sacred Music of San Rocco in Alessandria. Already titular organist of the Parish of Saint Pius V in Alessandria, and of the Diocesan Youth Choir of Alessandria, he served as organist for about 20 years at numerous celebrations of the Cathedral of Alessandria. At the same time, he served at celebrations in various Italian dioceses, including the Vicariate of Rome, and at some pontifical celebrations. He graduated in Sacred Music at the Conservatory of Novara, with a thesis on the ministry of the liturgical organist, and in Composition at the Conservatory of Alessandria. He followed masterclasses in organ improvisation with Fausto Caporali, Stefano Rattini and Paolo Oreni, in orchestration with Stefano Fonzi, on 19th century Italian organ music with Marco Ruggeri, and on synthesizers with Roberto Pagani. He further perfected himself in composition with Alessandro Ruo Rui. He is a certified teacher of music word processing with the Finale ® software and, in addition to collaborations with schools, he deals with transcriptions and music publishing. He founded, in collaboration with Marcello Bianchi, violin teacher at the Conservatory of Alessandria, the tenth “Hdemia ensemble”, as arranger and accompanying pianist, with whom he served at celebrations of the Cathedral of Alessandria and performed in numerous concerts. He was the artistic director of the “Musica, Immagine, Word, Prayer” event at the Rectory Church of Santa Maria Immacolata all’Esquilino in Rome, which offered chamber, vocal and instrumental music, in the form of a concert or spiritual elevation, with particular attention to the valorization of young musicians, chosen among the best graduates of Italian conservatories, and among winners of international competitions. He was the artistic director of the “Cordophonia” exhibition, organized by the LE.ARTI Cultural Association. in Rome, and dedicated to stringed instruments. He is Master Director of the Servite Musical Chapel of San Carlo in Turin. He has been teacher of “Elements of analysis and composition for the liturgy” at the “Beato Angelico” school of sacred art in Milan. He is teacher of “Gregorian Chant Accompaniment and Elements of composition for the liturgy” for the project “IMA Vox” of Piedmontese Choirs Association, in partnership with the Conservatory of Cuneo.
He has held and holds regular liturgical musicology courses, in person and online, for choirs, associations, parishes or dioceses, with the aim of increasing the awareness and preparation of those who deal, in the liturgy, with the ministerial service of chant and music. He is active as a composer, arranger and orchestrator, mainly in the liturgical field: his compositions are regularly performed throughout the national territory, including in concerts and choral festivals and is published by Edizioni Carrara (Volonté), a prestigious publishing house of sacred music. He is regularly invited to the most prestigious national and international conferences on sacred and liturgical music, organized by the Episcopal Conferences and the Holy See. He is regularly invited to take part in the juries of prestigious international chamber, vocal and instrumental music competitions.
Opera Singing Section
Graduated in Flute at the Conservatory “N. Paganini ”of Genoa, he subsequently studied singing with the Baritone Paolo Ancarani and perfected himself under the guidance of Maestro Rosetta Noli. He took part in important musical events such as: Villa Imperiale Festival in Genoa – Musical evenings in Milan – September music in Turin and others. He performed in France – Germany – Switzerland and Sweden where he performed the Petite messe solennelle by G. Rossini. He performed the ode Columbus by the composer Angelo Canepa for the first time at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa and the opera Moro per amore by Alessandro Stradella. He sang under the direction of world-renowned maestros such as: D. Sthall – H. Handt – F. Molinari Pradelli – G. Gavazzeni – D. Oren G. Morelli. C. Mandeal. Interpreter of the lyrical repertoire, he dedicated himself to operetta as a protagonist, performing with success among the public and critics The Merry Widow – The Land of Smiles – Frasquita – Dream of a Waltz The Count of Luxembourg and other titles. He has recorded: Mozart’s Requiem – Moro per amore by Stradella Valentino Bucchi’s double bass – Rossini’s Stabat Mater Rossini’s Petite solennelle – Mozart’s Requiem and the complete CD series of Canto l’opera. He recently performed Cavalleria rusticana (Turiddu), Tosca (Mario Cavaradossi) and Verdi’s Requiem. – Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Mascagni’s Messa di Gloria – Simon Boccanegra (Gabriele Adorno) La Traviata (Alfredo) Pagliacci (Canio) For several years he has collaborated as a maestro with the Claudio Monteverdi opera choir of Genoa and dedicated himself to orchestral conducting.
Born in Tbilisi (Georgia), she graduated in singing at the Conservatory of her city. In Italy, he attended the Accademia Chigiana of Siena and the Training and Specialization Course of the “Arturo Toscanini” Singing Academy of Parma, in Busseto, under the guidance of Carlo Bergonzi, obtaining diplomas of merit and scholarships, and the Specialization and Vocal Interpretation Course “Verdi Opera Studio”, of the “Verdi Festival Foundation” of the Teatro Regio of Parma, under the guidance of Renata Scotto. She is currently studying with the Soprano Aprile Millo. She made her debut in 1998 in Busseto, playing Abigaille in Nabucco, under the direction of Maestro Romano Gandolfi. She participates in the “Radio France” Festival at the Opera Berlioz in Montpellier in D. Monleone’s Cavalleria Rusticana and in F. Alfano’s Resurrection. During her career, she played the roles of: Tosca at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, National Theater in Bratislava, State Opera Z. Paliashvili in Tbilisi. Abigaille in Nabucco, in Busseto, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro di elefeld, Teatro Wielki di Poznan, Z. Paliashvili State Opera Theater di Tbilisi, Steinbruch Rohrdorf Festival di Munich, National State Opera Theater A. Dvorak di Ostrava, Prague State Opera. Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at the Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro Wielki in Poznan, National Theater in Prague, National Theater in Bratislava, and engaged at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, State Opera House of Banska Bystrica. Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Z. Paliashvili State Opera House in Tbilisi, at the State Opera House in Prague. Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Teatro Regio in Parma, in the theaters of the Circuito Lirico Lombardo, Teatro A. Ponchielli in Cremona, Teatro Grande in Brescia, Teatro Sociale in Como, Teatro G. Fraschini in Pavia, and at the Teatro dell’Opera in State Z. Paliashvili of Tbilisi. Odabella in Attila at the Paliashvili State Opera Theater in Tbilisi. Aksinja in the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mzensk District by D. Shostakovic at the Teatro Comunale of Florence, for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Toscana Opera Festival. Aida at the Z. Paliashvili State Opera Theater in Tbilisi. Leonora in La Forza del Destino at the Griboedov Theater in Tbilisi. Fedora at the A. Dvorak State Opera House in Ostrava. Gioconda at the Batumi Opera House (Georgia) Turandot at the Z. Paliashvili State Opera House in Tbilisi. Messa di Gloria by G. Donizetti, in the role of soprano soloist, at the Olomouc Sacred Music Festival. Requiem Mass by G. Verdi, in the role of soprano soloist, at the Olomouc Sacred Music Festival. Symphony No. 9 by L. v. Beethoven, as Mezzo-soprano soloist, at the Rossini Theater in Pesaro, conducted by Maestro Hideaki Hirai (2019). Gala concerts, “Verdi Gala”, “Puccini Gala”, Recitals in various locations in Italy and abroad, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, at the Perez Galdòs Theater in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, at the Salle Pleyel of Paris, which saw her perform arias from works by Italian and foreign authors, and Richard Wagner, from the roles of Brunnhilde and Isolde, at the Tbilisi Philharmonic Theater in 2015, presented by the famous actor Alain Delon, alongside other famous artists operas of an international level. You have sung in operas and concerts with various colleagues, including Dolora Zajick, Elisabetta Fiorillo, Nicola Martinucci, Salvatore Licitra, Franco Vassallo, Leo Nucci, Ambrogio Maestri, Lorenzo Saccomani, Lado Ataneli, Paata Burchuladze, Alberto Rinaldi, Carlo Guelfi . He has worked with numerous conductors, including Romano Gandolfi, James Conlon, Lorin Maazel, Tiziano Severini, Antonello Allemandi, Valery Gergiev, Alberto Veronesi, and directors, including Daniele Abbado, Jean Louis Grinda, Luca Ronconi, Lev Dodin, Andrey Konchalovsky, Alfonso Signorini, Giancarlo del Monaco. In 2018 she followed a course of lessons by Maestro Riccardo Muti on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Macbeth at the “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy” in Ravenna.
Yuliya Vyshnyvetska first approached music as a child, when she began studying piano at a music school in her hometown of Dnipro, Ukraine. She later graduated with honors in Opera Singing from the “M. Glinka” Conservatory of Music in Dnipro. She was awarded a scholarship to the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She began her career as a solo soprano at the “L. Kogan” Philharmonic and Hall for Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro, and has been a prizewinner and finalist in Ukrainian national competitions, including “New Names” in Kyiv, 2005.
She obtained Master’s degree in Opera Singing from the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan, Italy.
She further refined her technique and interpretation with bass Bonaldo Giaiotti, soprano Adriana
Maliponte, baritone Federico Longhi, M° Paolo Vaglieri, M° Enrico Stinchelli.
She enriched her great passion for the Lieder repertoire by attending the Advanced Specialization Program in Chamber Vocal Music at the “G. Nicolini” Conservatory in Piacenza, where she completed her Master’s degree.
Her musical career includes numerous opera and chamber concerts for music and cultural associations. Among many others, she has performed at: the concert hall La Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, France; the Mozarteum in Austria; the auditorium of the Conservatory of the Liceu in Barcelona, Spain; Theater Tirinnanzi and Theater Galleria in Legnano; Theater Asioli in Correggio; Theater Donizetti in Bergamo; Theater Parvum in Alessandria; Sala Filarmonica in Rovereto; Theater Rosetum and Sala G. Verdi in Milan; Sala Teatini in Piacenza; Theater Bellini in Naples; Theater Civico in Vercelli; Theater Gustavo of Modena di Palmanova ; Theater of Varese; Theater Duse of Bologna; Theater Petruzzelli of Bari; the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medici); Piazza di Siena, Palazzo Colonna, and Palazzo Barberini in Rome; Villa del Balbianello and Villa Geno in Como; Auditorium S. Caterina in Finalborgo, Villa Durazzo in Santa Margherita Ligure, Palazzo Nani Bernardo, Palazzo Pisani Moretta, and the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia in Venice.
Since 2017, she has been part of the project Aria – Music from the Oscars, with which she has performed in prestigious concerts, including appearances at the 74th–76th and 82nd Venice Film Festival, for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Porto Olbia Consortium, Sardinia and for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Los Angeles in Rome, Italy.
In 2017, she won third prize at the Stresa International Competition with a program of Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder.
Alongside her performing career, she is passionately committed to teaching and vocal training. Since 2019, she is the Artistic Director of the Mozart Italy Association – Kyiv.
Silvia Colombini is a soprano, graduated in violin and singing, with twenty years of experience on the main international stages. As reported by critics, she is an exceptional interpreter of Mozart and Bel canto. An expert connoisseur and selector of voices, she has been a member of the jury, president of the jury and artistic coordinator in various international singing competitions, including the world competition “Vincerò”. She is the creator and teacher of the innovative ARS singing method, a method that teaches singing in flow without effort, taught internationally since 2000. She is also the creator of “Voiceforstage” a training program for young singers; she is the creator and artistic director of the musical project “Alloro” (Italy-China cultural exchange). She has been a musical consultant for international associations and festivals, including the prestigious Armonie d’Arte Festival.You come from a family that belongs to the history of Opera: “Puccini’s baritone” Edoardo Camera for whom the role of “Scarpia” was written; the La Scala baritone Giuseppe Bellantoni; the tenor Roberto Stagno, first historic “Turiddu”, the composer Giancarlo Colombini. She began her career as a musician as a professional violinist, but at the age of 27 she discovered her natural soprano voice thanks to the famous soprano Edita Gruberova and thus began her career as a singer. Immediately winner of three international opera competitions, she made her debut in Vienna with one hundred performances of Die Fledermaus. She has performed on the main international stages: Semperoper in Dresden, Staatsoper in Berlin, Opera of Cologne, Bonn, Frankfurt, Regio of Turin, Fondazione Arena of Verona, Festival of Salzburg, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opera of Rome, La Monnaie of Brussels, Opera Tel Aviv, Festival MITOSettembremusica, Auditorium Verdi Milan, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Loggione del Teatro alla Scala, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Gewandhaus, Sala Gasteig, Auditorium Parco della Musica Rome, Sala Nervi in the Vatican, Quirinale di Roma, Shanghai Concert Hall, Bunka Kaikan of Tokyo, etc.You have collaborated with well-known directors and conductors: Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Zoltán Peskó, Milan Horvat, Stefan Soltesz, Donato Renzetti, Mario Martone, Luca Ronconi, Filippo Crivelli, Willy Decker, Davide Livermore. You have sung for two Presidents of the Republic (Sergio Mattarella and Carlo Azeglio Ciampi) and two Popes (Francis and G. Paolo II). She has recorded for DECCA and has performed in front of large audiences such as in the opera Elisir d’amore, for the Tel Aviv Opera, in front of 50 thousand spectators.She is also known by the epithet “Soprano D’ Arti” for the unpublished formats of her performances in which she sings in 13 languages and juxtaposes opera singing with other art forms, literally giving voice to works of art. material and non-material art. As an artistic soprano you recently held a concert with the opera star Vittorio Grigolo. She is considered an “ambassador” of Italian music in the world with concerts in Africa, India, Japan. In China, she is known as “The Queen of Italian Opera” because she is present with recital tours and master classes from 2011 to 2023. She carries out a cycle of performances on the theme of Human Dignity with many performances in defense of human rights and against violence against women (including the official Memorial Pavarotti concert for UNHCR in Piazza Grande in Modena). She is the Italian spokesperson for the REB and Debra Italia foundation, in defense of “butterfly children”, affected by the rare genetic disease Epidermolysis Bullosa.