Musicians from all over the world in Bolzano: Every two years at the end of summer the Busoni Piano Competition takes place
It was in 1949 that Cesare Nordio, former director of the Claudio Monteverdi Music Academy of Bolzano, hosted the Busoni Piano Competition for the first time. This was the year when whole Italy celebrated the 25th anniversary of Busoni's death: Ferruccio Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Busoni (1866 - 1924) was an important pianist, composer, conductor, librettist and essayist. The competition has become a major event of world-wide fame, just the way it was meant to be, bringing increased prestige to the town of Bolzano and its Music Academy.
The selection has been very strict, in more than half of the editions no first prize has been awarded. Today an international jury of experts judges the up-and-coming talents, elects a number of finalists and finally chooses a praiseworthy winner. On the same time some fascinating public concerts (solo semi finals and finals - the tickets are available online) are held in the Bolzano Auditorium. When? Every two years - in the odd years - between the end of August and mid-September. The winner will be presented at the renowned Bolzano Festival Bozen.
