The Viotti International Music Competition (Italian: Concorso Internazionale di Musica Viotti), named after the Italian composer and violinist Gian (Giovanni) Battista Viotti (1755–1824), is held every year in Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy. It was founded by violinist Joseph Robbone in 1950 and has been, since 1957, a member of the World Federation of Music Competitions.
The competition is dedicated primarily to piano and opera singing, but also features sections for violin, chamber music, oboe, guitar, dance and composition, among others.
In the fifty years since its inception, thousands of competitors have taken part, many of whom have reached international fame. They include Luigi Alva, Claudio Abbado, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Nicola Martinucci, Salvatore Accardo, Joaquim Achucarro, Daniel Barenboim, Renato Bruson, Piero Cappuccilli, Raina Kabaivanska, Sumi Jo, Yeol Eum Son, Jeanne You.
The judges have included Franco Corelli, Carlo Maria Giulini, Klaus Hellwig, Yehudi Menuhin, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Birgit Nilsson, Carl Orff, Aureliano Pertile, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Renata Scotto, and Joan Sutherland.
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or competition:
“Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient. And so he simply set about achieving that efficient monopoly.”
—Mario Puzo (b. 1920)