Biennale Musica closes: 10,000 spectators

Biennale Musica 2022, the second edition directed by the composer Lucia Ronchetti, concluded with a total of 10,000 spectators and a significant presence of the national and international press (The Guardian, Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, La Vanguardia, BBC Radio, Radio France, Deutschland Rundfunk are just some of the media covering the Festival).

The last act of the Festival were the prizes awarded by the Jury of Conservatory students.

Reaching Out, the work by composers Ondřej Adámek and Rino Murakami with director and choreographer Eric Oberdorff, won the Best Production award of the Biennale Musica 2022 directed by Lucia Ronchetti and produced by La Biennale di Venezia.

Clarinettist Kathryn Vetter, harpist Dafne Paris, percussionist Federico Tramontana and soprano Esther-Elisabeth Rispens – the young musicians under 35 and members of the ensemble of performers from the Biennale College Musica – are the winners of the Best Performance award.

The decisions were made by the Jury of 14 students under 30 selected from Conservatories across Italy – young musicians enrolled in courses in composition, electronics, new technologies, piano, oboe – who under the guidance of the dramaturgist and music historian Guido Barbieri attended the entire festival examining and discussing each of the thirty works in the programme from the twin perspectives of composer and performer: “A significant moment of exchange between the protagonists of the Festival and the passionate and critical eye of the new generation of emerging musicians”, said Lucia Ronchetti.

The young jurors are: Sebastiano Burelli (Conservatory of Venice), Giuseppe Dato (Conservatory of Padua), Margherita D’Adamo (Conservatory of Vicenza), Lorenzo Nicotra (Conservatory of Verona), Matteo Sarcinelli (Conservatory of Castelfranco), Filippo Lugnan (Conservatory of Rovigo), Francesco Latorraca (Conservatory of Potenza), Francesco Gulic (Conservatory of Trieste), Paolo Catenaccio (Conservatory of Rome), Filippo Scaramucci (Conservatory of Pesaro), Jacopo Cornacchione (Conservatory of Campobasso), Francesca Idini (Conservatory of Turin), Modesto Picci (Conservatory of Bari), Gabriele Boccio (Conservatory of L’Aquila).

The award ceremony took place on the last day of the Festival, Sunday September 25^th at 11 am in Sala delle Colonne in Ca’ Giustinian, the headquarters of La Biennale.

Of Reaching Out by Ondřej Adámek, Rino Murakami and Eric Oberdorff, the Jury “particularly appreciated the in-depth investigation into the fields of vocality and phonetics, the involvement and coexistence of artists on stage and the fresh approach to the use of innovative elements to achieve full coherence and formal balance. All of this contributed to the construction of a solid dramaturgy that converged into a rousing, variegated production”.

The performers, who developed their experience during the Biennale College Musica, “demonstrated, says the motivation, exceptional technical mastery, elevated performing sensibility, strong communication skills and great performing mastery beyond their specific instrumental artistry; all elements that became the pillars of a dramaturgical execution with great emotional impact and powerful tension on stage”. Kathryn Vetter, Dafne Paris, Federico Tramontana, Esther-Elisabeth Rispens of the Biennale College the performers of the Biennale College Musica performed a programme of pieces from the repertory of Georges Aperghis, as well as works by François Sarhan and Carola Bauckholt. Furthermore, adds the motivation, Esther-Elisabeth Rispens “displayed a powerful vocal and acting presence in Still Drowsy by Timothy Cape and Relict by Daniil Posazhennikov as well”.

La Biennale Musica continues on the media and extends an invitation to its radio and television audiences: on October 7^th channel Rai 5 will broadcast, on Save the Date, a documentary that reviews and explores the themes and protagonists of the festival; on October 8^th, BBC Radio 3 will dedicate a special to Biennale Musica (New Music Show); on October 16^th Rai 5, on Prima della Prima, will examine the making of and broadcast the entire performance of Jules Verne, the opera by the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Giorgio Battistelli, which inaugurated the Festival, as part of the “marathon” dedicated to the composer. Finally, many of the concerts in the programme of Biennale Musica may be listened to or heard over again in the schedule of Radio3 Suite.