The violin and cello winners of the Accordi Musicali Academy International Competitions
This year’s Accordi Musicali Academy International Competitions took place in Pescara, Italy, and were open to applicants of all nationalities up to the age of 35. The cello competition ran from 30 July to 1 August, and the violin competition from 7–9 August.
In the cello competition, the first prize of €5,000 was awarded to New Zealand-German cellist Matthias Balzat, 25, the second prize of €3,000 to French cellist Marie Viard, 32, and the third prize of €1,000 to Italian cellist Caterina Isaia, 21. This year’s jury comprised Alexander Chaushian, Gloria Kim, Massimo Magri, Tim Park, and Ignatius Sokal.
In the violin competition, the first prize of €5,000 was won by Chinese violinist Zhiyuan Qian, 14, the second prize of €3,000 by British-Ukranian violinist Vadym Perig, 19, and the third prize of €1,000 by South Korean-German violinist Inhee Park, 33. The jury comprised Carmelo Andriani, Boris Brovtsyn, Alibek Kabdurakhmanov, Francesco Manara, and Carlo Parazzoli.
Both competitions comprised an initial recital round and a final round accompanied by the Accordi Musicali Orchestra, conducted by Nataliya Gonchak.
The academy also offered masterclasses for both instruments prior to the competitions. The cello masterclasses took place from 24–28 July, with professors including David Geringas, Alexander Chaushian, Marc Coppey, Gustav Rivinius, and Gabriel Schwabe. The violin masterclasses ran from 1–5 August, with professors including Marc Bouchkov, Giuseppe Gibboni, Daniel Hope, Itamar Zorman, Pierre Amoyal, Boris Brovtsyn, and Chloe Hanslip.