Two of the three award recipients are string players
The Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) has announced the recipients of its inaugural Artist Encore Awards, which are given to musicians who have previously won BBT awards or fellowships and are undertaking projects tackling social issues and inequalities in their communities. The three winners are violinist Viviane Hagner, cellist–composer Alessio Pianelli and pianist Shai Wosner. Each receives £15,000 to support their project.
BBT chief executive Toby Smith said of the new initiative: ‘After speaking with a number of BBT Artists already engaged in outreach work and recipients of BBT Community Grants, we know that there is mutual gain and fulfilment to be had. So we then approached more of our alumni interested in this kind of philanthropy and have chosen three pilot projects to support. Our intention is that their success will inspire creative initiatives from more BBT Artists, for which we will seek further financial support to extend BBT funds.’
Violinist Viviane Hagner received a BBT Award in 2004. She is an alumna of the Julius Stern Institute of University of the Arts in Berlin, Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and Manhattan School of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, at the age of 13. She has since performed with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and others. In 2009 she became artist-in-residence at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and began a professorship at the University of the Arts Berlin.
Hagner is also the co-founder and artistic director of Krzyżowa-Music in Poland, an annual festival created in 2015 that gives promising young musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform with world-renowned artists. Her BBT Encore project, Krzyżowa-Music for All, will launch in summer 2025 and bring concerts to the local community who are unable to visit the festival for health or economic reasons. It will also aim to help young musicians appreciate the mutual benefits of community engagement and social contribution.
Italian cellist and composer Alessio Pianelli was awarded a BBT Fellowship in 2018. He is a prizewinner of the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition and has performed as a soloist with orchestras including Sinfonieorchester Basel, the Kazakh State Orchestra, Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, Philarmonie Baden-Baden and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino. He has performed at festivals such as the Marlboro Festival, Piatigorsky Festival and Davos Festival.
Pianelli’s Encore project, My Music Cares, will take place in his home city of Trapani, Sicily, for a week in May 2026. It will aim to educate and encourage young people aged 11 to 18 to respect and care for the environment. It will take place in collaboration with the charity Plastic Free, which raises awareness of environmental issues. Pianelli will lead themed music workshops in five local schools and compose new works, including a percussion piece using plastic bottles reclaimed from the coastline. The project will culminate in a community beach clean-up with the students and volunteers, followed by a concert nearby featuring a children’s choir and solo and ensemble cello performances.
US-based Israeli pianist Shai Wosner received his BBT award in 2005. His project, Music Mission, will bring live music to recent immigrants in a New York church, soup kitchen and community hub.
The Borletti-Buitoni Trust has been supporting outstanding young musicians for over 20 years through its awards and fellowships, and also presents communities grants to assist charitable organisations that help the underprivileged and disadvantaged through music.
Read: Borletti Buitoni Trust announces recipients of community funding
Read: Borletti-Buitoni Trust announces awards and fellowships for 2024
The number one source for playing and teaching books, guides, CDs, calendars and back issues of the magazine.
In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.
The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
No comments yet