The best young conductors in the world in Grosseto for the third edition of the “Sergei Kussewitzky” competition

The best young conductors in the world in Grosseto for the third edition of the “Sergei Kussewitzky” competition.

47 talented young conductors from 20 countries around the world participated in the selections. The best 8 are arriving in Grosseto for the final phase of the competition Sergei Kussewitzky now in its third edition and organized by the Scriabin musical association in collaboration with the Municipality of Grosseto and the support of the Grosseto Rotary Club and the Grosseto Culture Foundation.
The venue for the final phase is the Teatro degli Industri. The program includes the semi-finals on Friday 13 October (free admission) and on Saturday 14 October from 18pm the final evening (admission fee; WhatsApp infoline 333.5372994, tickets also on sale at the theater box office before the concert) with the three finalists - according to the verdict of the international jury - who will conduct the City Symphony Orchestra of Grosseto with compositions by Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven.

The eight semi-finalists are Chaowen Ting (Taiwan), Hae Lee (South Korea), Hannah Schendel (USA), Oi Ching Chan (Hong Kong), Junyoung Kim (South Korea), Mateusz Moleda (Germany), Taichi Hiratsuka (Japan ) and Xiaobo Hu (China).
The international jury is made up of Vittorio Parisi (Italy, president), Massimo Belli (Italy), Christian Fitzner (Germany), Francisco Javier Gutierrez (Spain), Massimo Merone (Italy) and Szimon Makowski (Poland).

The first prize of the competition is a scholarship of 3 thousand euros (plus plaque, diploma and concerts); the second prize is a scholarship of 2 thousand euros (plus plaque and diploma); the third prize is a scholarship of one thousand euros (plus plaque and diploma). The “Città di Grosseto” Orchestra award is a 500 euro scholarship with diploma.

«The “Sergei Kussewitzky” orchestra conductor competition which, like every year, returns to Grosseto for the final event – ​​declare the mayor Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna and the councilor for Culture, Luca Agresti – is an event of great cultural value , musical and promotional, as evidenced by the previous editions in which a total of 130 competitors from 31 nations participated. This year too, at the end of a truly tough selection, the eight semi-finalists chosen from dozens of talented and deserving candidates from all over the world demonstrate the great cultural, musical and promotional value of the event. Events like this spread the art of music and contribute to increasing the prestige of the City of Grosseto on a national and international level. Our gratitude goes to all the organizers, to maestro Massimo Merone and to the artistic director of the competition, maestro Antonio Di Cristofano, who with commitment and passion contribute to fueling this cultural vitality."

«Another stage of the laborious activity of Antonio di Cristofano, assisted by maestro Massimo Merone, is about to come to an end – declares Luigi Mansi, president of the Scriabin Association – with the final phase of the third edition of the international competition for orchestra conductors named after Sergei Kussewitzky. Forty-seven conductors from 20 countries around the world participated in the competition: among them, eight top-level conductors are in the semi-finals, including three women. There are no Italians among the eight semi-finalists, despite the fact that in the world today we can speak of a golden moment for our country's conductors and many young Italians have chosen this career. In an Italian panorama that we can define as problematic, with our opera houses not generally experiencing a thriving situation, the Kussewitzky competition is the promoter of a cultural action that keeps the interest alive for those who decide to pursue a career in Italy too with difficult prospects and contributes to the development of a fundamental asset for a country whose pillars are culture, art, nature and tourism. We wish the competition a long life, in the hope of seeing many young Italians as finalists who will keep alive the tradition of the great conductors who have given so much prestige to our nation."

«This year too the organization of the Kussewitzky Competition was rewarded by the participation of orchestra conductors from all over the world – recall Antonio Di Cristofano and Massimo Merone of the organizing committee – and this shows how much the city's musical activity is under the gaze of musicians of international level training and activity. The collaboration between the Municipality of Grosseto, the “Città di Grosseto” Symphony Orchestra, the “Scriabin” musical association and the various partnerships have borne fruit, once again bringing our city to the center of musical events of global importance. The international jury, this year chaired by maestro Vittorio Parisi, carried out its work by selecting, after an initial phase, eight semi-finalists who competed to participate in the final. The three finalists will perform on Sunday 14 October leading the "Città di Grosseto" orchestra and competing for cash prizes and concerts. The Kussewitzky competition continues to be a point of reference of great interest for conductors: for this reason we are confident that it will be increasingly appreciated in Italy and abroad."