40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
“Michele Pittaluga”
INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION
City of Alessandria Award

The 40th anniversary edition of the City of Alessandria Award was hosted by the great Venezuelan Master, Alirio Diaz, Honorary President and Artistic Director of the Competition (now assisted by a team of internationally renowned collaborators who contribute to the regular programming of the festival). The master, who was flown in for the event from Caracas, graced the stage and wished to offer his moving testimony regarding the birth of the competition and his longstanding friendship with Michele Pittaluga. At the end of the talk, he played a few pieces from his celebrated repertoire.
This year, the program was dedicated to Italian composers for guitar. Thirty-six participants had registered, and 25 were present at the elimination round.
For the fortieth edition, the City of Alessandria put its best face forward. The shop window displays were decorated with musical themes (a prize was awarded for the best window displays). Banners, flyers, panels and posters could be found all over the city. A guitar measuring 6 by 3 meters was displayed at the entrance of Palazzo Asperia, and another in the Conservatory lobby. A giant guitar shaped floral arrangement crowned the entrance to the city at Tanaro’s Bridge
The highly qualified jury invited to judge the Performance Competition was composed of:

• ALIRIO DIAZ Honorary President VENEZUELA – Concert Guitarist
• ANTONIO BIKI RODRIGUEZ President CUBA Guitar Professor
• MATANYA OPHEE Jury Member ISRAEL/USA Guitar Musicologist and editor
• COLIN COOPER Jury Member UNITED KINGDOM, Musicologist journalist, chief editor of Classical Guitar
• MARCO TAMAYO Jury Member CUBA – Professor and Concert Guitarist
• NUCCIO D’ANGELO. Jury Member ITALIA – Guitar Composer
• PAVEL STEIDL Jury Member CECOSLOVACCHIA – Concert Guitarist
• SULAMITA ARONOVSKY Jury Member RUSSIA – Pianist at the Moscow Conservatory
• MICAELA PITTALUGA Jury Member ITALIA- Competition President

The competition began on Monday, the 24th of September at 9 o’clock in the grand hall of the City hall. The order of performance was chosen by lottery in the presence of the participants, jury and local authorities. The elimination round began in the afternoon of the same day in the Conservatory Auditorium and continued until Wednesday evening with the performance of the last participant. After the jury agreed upon the exceptional level of the competitors, ten participants were chosen to go on to the semi-finals: Sabrina Vlaskalic (Serbia), Magdalena Kaltcheva (Bulgaria), Irina Kulikova (Russia), Omar Kessel Savido (Cuba), Otto Tolonen (Finland), Horvath Lajos (Hungary), Petrit Ceku (Croatia), Andras Csaki (Hungary), Dimitri Illarionov (Russia), Emanuele Buono (Italy).
The semi-finals took place on Thursday the 27th with the performance of a 40 minute program by eight of the ten semi-finalists due to the withdrawal of two of the participants, Lajos and Kessel Savido. Immediately following the voting of the Jury, the results were made known: the finalists were Irina Kulikova, Petrit Ceku and Dimitri Illarionov. The next day the jury had the day off, while the finalists met with the Conductor in the morning, and rehearsed with the orchestra in the afternoon.
The finals were held Saturday evening. The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Vivaldi Conservatory took their places on the stage of the Great Hall of the Alessandria Municipal Theatre, followed by the Conductor, Paolo Ferrara and the three finalists. Dimitri Illarionov presented the “Concierto” by Aranjuez, Irina Kulikova chose the Concerto in Re op.99 by Castelnuovo Tedesco, and then Petrit Ceku played the concerto by Rodrigo. The jury withdrew to decide.
In the meantime, previous winners of the Pittaluga Award present that evening were invited on the stage (Fierens, Tallini, Chiche, Krivokapic, Bernier, Dervoed, Titre, Briasco), along with Mrs. Marianne Granvig, president of the world Federation of international music competitions (WFIMC), Alirio Diaz and his son Senio, and some non-finalists who were given awards. Since the jury took quite a while to decide, the Mayor of the city read some passages from an interview that Bevilacqua had with Michele Pittaluga in the 70’s. The public waited patiently for the results which came shortly before midnight.
The first prize was given to Petrit Ceku (Croatia), second prize to Dimitri Illarionov (Russia) and third prize to Irina Kulikova (Russia).
The winner, PETRIT CEKU received a cash prize of € 8500, a recording deal in Canada in the beginning of the new year with the American record label, Naxos, a medal from the President of Italy, a photography booklet, a watch, an Exagon tuning machine a silver plaque from the Promotional Committee, Berben and Orfée scores, magazine subscriptions, a concert tour with contracts for already programmed concerts and the Aurora Blardone Award of € 2000 for the youngest finalist.
The second place winner, DIMITRI ILLARIONOV won € 4500 in cash, a medal from the President of Italy, a watch, a silver plaque from the Promotional Committee, Berben and Orfée scores, and magazine subscriptions.
The third place winner, IRINA KULIKOVA, won € 2500 in cash, a medal from the President of Italy, a watch, a silver plaque from the Promotional Committee, Berben and Orfée scores, and magazine subscriptions.
Moreover the Serbian musician, Sabrina Vlaskalic was awarded a prize for the youngest semi-finalist, Emanuele Buono, as the best classified Italian participant, and the Romanian, Mircea Gogoncea was recognised for being the youngest participant over all. All semi-finalists received travel reimbursements as outlined in the regulations.
On the same day as the competition finals, the 12th International Guitar Convention was also held in Alessandria in the Conservatory Auditorium and in the great stairs of Palazzo Cuttica. The convention participants included workers, master luthiers, composers, editors, record companies, renowned guitarists as well as new students, speakers and musicology researchers who all breathed life into a day full of musical encounters which culminated with the assigning of “2007 Golden Guitar” awards. Among the events planned were speeches, two concerts with Pavel Steidl and Artyom Dervoed, the debut of the fourteen year-old, Michele De Vincenti, the anniversary celebration of the Suzuki school in Saluzzo, the famous “sheet music market”, and the golden guitar awards which went to: Julian Bream (a life dedicated to the guitar), Hans Werner Henze (Composition), Bosko Radoikovic (Promotion of the instrument), Guido Margaria (teaching), Artyom Dervoed (young talent), Alberto Mesirca (best CD), and Matanya Ophee (Musicology research).
The following day, the customary finalists’ concert was moved to Turin thanks to the collaboration with Lingotto Musica and the De Sono Association and the support of the Piedmont Region. Two coaches accompanied the artists, guests and orchestra for the first time to present Alessandria’s guitar competition in the striking Piazza Bodoni Conservatory Auditorium. The theatre was full. and the public was impressed by the orchestra and the three young musicians and the evening concluded with a warm round of applause. At the Turin event also attended Mrs Marianne Granvig, the WFIMC President
The Michele Pittaluga international guitar competition has been sponsored by the high patronage of the State and enjoys the support of the Italian UNESCO Commission. It is financed by: the Piedmont Region, Province and Municipality of Alessandria, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, the Foundations of the Cassa di Risparmio (Savings Banks) of Alessandria and Turin, the San Paolo Company, by local authorities and private citizens. Since 2003 it has been a member of the Executive Committee of the WFIMC (World federation of international Music competitions).