Cantelli Awards

The Cantelli Award (Italian: Premio Guido Cantelli) recognizes excellence in conducting. The prize was first awarded on October 3, 1961. The awards were hosted at the Teatro Coccia, in Novara, where also all the other editions were hosted. The prestigious prize was won, among others, by Ádám Fischer, Lothar Zagrosek, and Riccardo Muti, who was the first Italian to win the prize.[1][2] Many winners of the prize went on to become prominent conductors.[3]

Cantelli Award
Premio Guido Cantelli
Awarded forExcellence in conducting
CountryItaly
First awardedOctober 3, 1961 (1961-10-03)
Websitepremiocantelli.it

The award was created in honour of Guido Cantelli, a noted Italian conductor, Italy's greatest talent in conducting in his time, and a protégée of Arturo Toscanini. On November 23, 1958, Cantelli, who by then had become director of La Scala and was performing in the world's greatest theaters and orchestra, died in an airplane clash in Paris, France. Five years later, the Premio Cantelli was established in Novara―the place of birth of the maestro, and where he held his last concert.

This competition, which was won by numerous world famous conductors, ran until 1980. There were a total of 10 editions between 1961 and 1980. In 2020, after a long pause, the awards were revived in occasion of the centenary of the great conductor's birth, with the Cantelli Award celebrating its eleventh edition.

Award categories
Riccardo Muti won the Cantelli Award in 1967

As of 2020, there were six categories of awards. The First Prize, granted by the Fondazione Teatro Coccia; the Critics Award, granted by the Fondazione Banca Popolare di Novara; the Town Award, which in 2020 was conferred by the Councillor for Culture of the City of Novara, the president of the Associazione Amici della Musica Vittorio Cocito and the director of the Guido Cantelli Conservatory; the Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra Award, granted by the members of the Teatro Regio and supported by Amici del Regio; the Youth Award and the Made in Italy Award―conferred by the president of the Teatro Coccia foundation and by the latter's director. The 2020 jury for the Critics Award was composed of members Enrico Girardi (Il Corriere della Sera), Angelo Foletto (La Repubblica), Elvio Giudici (Il Giorno), Alberto Mattioli (La Stampa), and Carla Moreni (Il Sole 24 Ore). Further, artistic contracts to conduct concerts are awarded. These are offered by the Fondazione Teatro Coccia, the Teatro Regio Turin, Parma's Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT), Venice's Teatro La Fenice, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (ORF), the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rossini in Wildbad – Belcanto Opera Festival.[3]

Categories
  • Premio Cantelli, the First Prize
  • Critics Award
  • Town Awards
  • Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra Award
  • Youth Award
  • Made in Italy Award
  • Contracts

History
Donato Renzetti was the last winner of the Cantelli Award before the awards' revival in 2020

Historically, the purpose of the awards was recognizing the greatest talent in conducting, more specifically, the best young conductors less than 35 years of age. The prized once included 5,000,000 lire, a gold medal and a diploma, and a contract to conduct a concert at La Scala.[4]

In November 1956, Guido Cantelli, at the time the leading Italian conductor, praised by Toscanini, and the new director of La Scala, died in an airplane crash in France. Toscanini, who was in failing health and died less than two months later, was not informed of the death of his protégée. Cantelli was but 36 years old at the time of his death. He left his wife, and his 5 months old son.[3]

In 1961, five years after the tragedy, the Cantelli Award was established in Novara, to be hosted at the Teatro Coccia. The late Italian maestro was from Novara, and it was in this Piedmontese city that he had is last concert.

The last edition of the awards, in which the Cantelli Prize was won by Donato Renzetti, was held in the 1980. In the 2020s, in occasion of the anniversary of the maestro's 100th birthday, the Cantelli Awards were revived in Novara.[5][6]

2020 revival

The 2020 Cantelli Prize was won by New Zealand's Tianyi Lu, who also won the Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra Award and the Youth Award. In the 2020 edition, the Critics Award was won by Dmitry Matvienko, who was also the winner of the Made in Italy Prize. The Town Award was won by Diego Ceretta.[6][7][5]

Winners

The following is a list of winners of the Premio Cantelli (the First Prize of the Awards) since its inception in October 1961.

EditionYearAwardWinnerOrchestra
11961I winnerHermann MichaelI Pomeriggi musicali
21963I winnerEliahu InbalOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
31965I winnerWalter GilessenOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
41967I winnerRiccardo MutiOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
51969I winnerJames FrazierOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
61971I winnerInoue MichiyoshiOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
71973II winners (ex aequo)Ádám Fischer, Lothar ZagrosekOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
81975I winnerHubert SoudantOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
91977I winnerWojciech MichniewskiOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
101980I winnerDonato RenzettiOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala
112020I winnerTianyi LuOrchestra del Teatro alla Scala

References
  1. Ricci, Carlo Franco (2003). Francesco Siciliani sessant'anni di vita musicale in Italia. Edizioni scientifiche italiane. p. 396. ISBN 9788849503920. [Muti] era di nuovo alla Scala dove, nel 1967, aveva vinto il prestigioso premio "Guido Cantelli".
  2. Cantarelli, Elena (2004). Il Teatro alla Scala settimana del teatro, 19-23 maggio 2003. Bulzoni Editore. p. 25. ISBN 9788878700055. [Muti] era imposto all'attenzione internazionale a Novara vincendo, primo italiano nella storia del concorso, il prestigioso "Premio Guido Cantelli".
  3. "History of the Competition". Premio Cantelli's Official Website. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. Wasserman, Paul; McLean, Janice W., eds. (1982). Awards, Honors, and Prizes. Gale Research Company. p. 342. ISBN 9780787615024.
  5. "I grandi direttori d'orchestra nel volume che omaggia Cantelli: il debutto è con A-Novara". La Stampa. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. "The winners of Premio Cantelli 2020". Premio Cantelli's Official Website. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. "Lirico Cagliari: tre pagine orchestrali e atmosfere russe". ANSA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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