IV International Competition Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli: Winners Announced!

On October 6th and 7th, the enchanting Ruspoli Castle in Vignanello successfully hosted the IV edition of the International Competition Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli, organized by the Centro Studi e Ricerche Santa Giacinta Marescotti. This year, the competition opened its doors to a new instrumental class, the Viola da Gamba, alongside the musicology section, which explored the theme “Patronage and music in European courts between the 17th and 18th centuries.”

The instrumental competition featured nine talented candidates from Austria, Romania, Germany, France, and Italy. The victory for the instrumental section was awarded to the young and brilliant French finalist MATHILDE VIALLE (born 1988). Mathilde, who began her studies at the Bordeaux Conservatory and is a founding member of Les Festes d’Euterpe, already has a track record of successes in various international competitions. In the concert on Sunday, October 7th, Mathilde was accompanied by the other two finalists chosen by the jury: Teodoro Bau’ (Italy, born 1992) and Soma Salat-Zakarias (Romania, born 1986), in a performance that saw the young contenders play together for the first time. At the harpsichord, Maestros Jacopo Raffaele and Sebastian Bausch contributed to the magic of the event. In addition to the concert recording, the winner received a prize of €2,000.00 and a plaque created by the Vignanello artist Walter Togni.

For the musicology section, the victory went to the Spanish scholar ANA LOMBARDIA GONZALEZ (born 1984), with her essay titled “Corelli as a model?: Composing violin sonatas in mind-18th – century Madrid”. She was awarded a cash prize of €500.00 and the plaque from artist Walter Togni.

Professor Giorgio Monari (Sapienza University of Rome and Pontifical Gregorian University) served as Artistic Director of the instrumental section and Scientific Director of the musicology section. The technical jury for the viola da gamba was chaired by Maestro Paolo Pandolfo (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland), joined by distinguished figures from the music world such as M° Bettina Hoffmann (Conservatory of Vicenza and Fiesole School of Music), M° Enrico Gatti (Conservatory “Santa Cecilia” of Rome and Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands), M° Björn Ross (Nordic Early Music Federation and Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne), and M° Johannes Boer (Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands). The jury for the musicology section consisted of Professor Dinko Fabris (Piccinni Conservatory of Bari and University of Basilicata, President of the International Musicological Society) and Professor Manuel Carlos De Brito (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal).

The Centro Studi is proud to have upheld the precious legacy of Prince Ruspoli’s patronage, reintroducing it in a modern key for current generations, who had the opportunity to relive the atmosphere of Ruspoli Castle, a place that has hosted numerous artistic experiences.

Finalists and Jury