The violin and cello winners of the Accordi Musicali Academy International Competitions

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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.

Playing

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.

Teaching

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.

Calendars

American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.