O
n June 10-11, 2019, the European Foundation for Support of Cultureand Associazione Palazzo San Teodoro held the 3rd annual Palazzo San Teodoro awards ceremony in San Teodoro Palace in Naples (the Campania region).
Naples is the capital of Southern Italy and of the region of Campania. The city is located at the foothills of Vesuvius; it is the third most populous city in the country after Rome and Milan. Naples is a city with truly Italian temperament: wild, chaotic, and colorful. It is always full of noise, merriment, and music playing in the streets.
Naples is a very old city founded by ancient Greeks; it boasts 448 historical and monumental churches. It has some of the world’s best theaters, including opera houses. The proliferation of historic statues and monuments brought the city its nickname of open-air museum. The 19th century changed Naples’ city space and planning transforming it into a modern megalopolis we know today. Like no other city, it can combine antiquity and modernity, be a treasure trove of arts and history framed with magnificent landscapes of breathtaking beauty. This city has a very special soul where eras merge and boundaries blur.
Professor Maria Sbeglia, winner of many international competition, the artistic director of Fondazione Franco Michele Napolitano, the founder and artistic director of the Rotary Youth Chamber Orchestra, served as the artistic director of the piano competition. In addition to the artistic director, its panel of judges comprised famous classical music figures, including Umberto Zamuner, director of the Conservatory of Music “Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa”; Maestro Marco Ciampi, finalist of the Sydney Piano Competition, the Art Director of the Formia Music Academy; Vincenzo Maltempo, winner of the Premio Venezia International Competition, founder and teacher at the Imola Piano Academy “Talent Development – Eindhoven” (Netherlands), professor of the Conservatory of Music «Gesualdo da Venosa» in Potenza; Giuliano Mazzoccante, piano professor at the Conservatory “G. Braga” Teramo (Italy); Federico Rovini, director of the Conservatory “Giacomo Puccini” in La Spezia.
In addition to the prize fund, the three winners of the Palazzo San Teodoroaward will also participate free of charge in the “In Musica” Roma International Festival and Piano Competition to be held in 2020 as part of the 14 Ways to Malta series.