jury 2025

JURY

ROBERTO CAPPELLO - THE PRESIDENT

ROBERTO CAPPELLO is an ITALIAN pianist, born in 1951, who began playing piano and violin at a very young age. He made his debut at only six years old at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, enjoying great success. A 1974 graduate of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, he won major international competitions, including the "City of Senigallia" and the "Maria Canals" in Barcelona. In 1976 he won First Prize at the prestigious Ferruccio Busoni International Competition, an award that had been missing from an ITALIAN pianist for 25 years. During his career he has given more than 2,000 concerts in the most important international halls and festivals. He opened the chamber music season of Teatro alla Scala in 1994 and Teatro Santa Cecilia in 1995, performing Liszt's "12 Transcendental Studies." He also played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 on tour with the Rai National Symphony Orchestra. ROBERTO CAPPELLO was also director of the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma, where he currently teaches principal piano, and has made numerous recordings.

Dorian Leljak is an internationally renowned Serbo-Croatian pianist and professor. Currently, he teaches piano at the Royal College of Music in London and the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. His influence in the music world is considerable, as he holds several prestigious positions: he is President of the World Piano Teachers Association (WPTA) and Artistic Director of the International Isidor Bajic Piano Competition. His career is full of successes: he has won major international competitions and received numerous awards from prestigious institutions, including Yale University. After studying with masters such as Arbo Valdma and Boris Berman, he embarked on a brilliant career performing around the world as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2002 he made his debut in such renowned halls as the*Carnegie Hall. Leljak is also a reference for young musicians, giving global masterclasses and serving on the jury of numerous international piano competitions, such as the Cleveland International Piano Competition, confirming his authority and dedication.

Frank Wasser, a German pianist and chamber musician, studied in Berlin and specialized in 20th-century music. In addition to performing in the most prestigious international halls, he teaches piano and chamber music and gives master classes throughout Europe. He is the founder and artistic director of several festivals, such as the "Debussy" in Berlin and the "Havelländische Musikfestspiele." He boasts collaborations with renowned artists and received the "Guido Adler Preis" in 2004 for his contributions to music and science. His numerous recordings, both as a soloist and with chamber ensembles, testify to his prolific artistic activity. He directs the New Berliner Klaviertrio, for which important contemporary composers have written works. His experience is also recognized internationally: he has served on juries in piano competitions such as the "ROVERE D'ORO" and chaired the Rome International Competition in 2004.
Vesna Ivanović Ocwirk graduated from the School of Music in Pula( Croatia). At the age of sixteen she became one of the youngest students at the Academy of Music in Agabria, where she graduated in 1992 from the Piano Department in the class of Prof. Jakša Zlatar. During and after her studies she specialized in masterclasses of piano interpretation in the classes of K. Bogino, A. Ciccolini and L. Brumberg. She is active both in teaching and as a solo pianist and piano accompanist. She has obtained concerts as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, in numerous cities, especially in Croatia and Italy. She is a member of the Croatian Society of Artists and Musicians. Since 2002, she has been the president of the Association Scena Musicale Giovani dell'Istria, an association for the promotion of music, art and culture, which takes special care of talented young musicians accompanying them in their training, organizing concerts for them in Pula and Istria. She is the artistic director of several chamber music festivals ( Fazanesi Sunsets, The Joyful Peninsula), with the Croatian pianist Marijan Djuzel she launched the piano festival Piano Pool, which is a great success. She works at the Academy of Music in Pula.
Born in Busto Garolfo (Mi), he was initiated to the study of piano by his father. Soon after, he attended the prestigious Barese piano school studying with masters P. Camicia and V. Ferrari, graduating from the N. Piccinni Conservatory and and graduating from the Institute of High Artistic Education of the Conservatory "DUNI" in Matera in the II Level course with Compositional and Interpretive focus in Piano with highest honors. Winner of National and International piano competitions, he performs as soloist for important Musical Associations in various Italian and European cities. He has performed with Italian and foreign orchestras such as the A.GI. MUS (Italy), "Accademia di Tirana" (Albania), "Orchestra dell'Accademia Musicale Pescarese l'Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari, ecc. He has held Piano Masterclasses at the Hindemith Academy Of Bluney (Switzerland) and in Italy at the XXVII Corso Di Interpretazione Musicale Citta` Di Norcia; he is called to serve on juries of piano competitions in Italy and abroad. He teaches Principal Piano at the Conservatory "Niccolò Piccinni" in Bari.

She possesses uncommon instrumental qualities and is endowed with a quivering, poetic sensibility that draws the audience in. This is how la stampa specialized defines the pianist Carla Aventaggiato who has specialized with Maestros Sergio Cafaro,Antonio Bacchelli, Novin Afrouz, Aldo Ciccolini, François Joël Thiollier and Marisa Somma. Awarded in several National and International Competitions, she carries out an intense concert activity, both as a soloist and in piano duo formation, which has led her to give concerts in prestigious Cultural Associations in Italy (Milan-Circolo della Stampa, Cosenza-Teatro Rendano, Bari Teatro Piccinni, Ravello-Villa Rufolo, Matera, Salerno, Turin, Udine, Rome, Florence, etc.) and abroad (Spain, Romania, Germany, Croatia, etc.). Regularly invited to serve on judging commissions of national and international piano competitions, she is artistic director of the National Piano Competition "City of Casamassima", of the "Amadeus" Music Association of Casamassima and of the International Piano Competition "City of Acquaviva delle Fonti - "Premio Giovanni Colafemmina". He teaches principal piano at the Conservatory of Music "N. Piccinni" in Bari.

He graduated with highest honors from the Conservatory of Music "Niccolò Piccini" in Bari under the guidance of Marisa Somma , continuing his studies with Novin Afrouz, Paul Badura Skoda, Aldo Ciccolini and François-Joël Thiollier. He made his debut at the age of seventeen at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, since then a brilliant concert career has followed, both as soloist and in piano duo with his wife Carla Aventaggiato, and has played for important musical associations in prestigious venues, earning acclaim from audiences and critics everywhere. Awarded in numerous national and international piano competitions. Regularly invited to serve on judging panels of national and international piano competitions, he is artistic director(together with his wife Carla Aventaggiato) of the International Piano Competition City of Acquaviva delle Fonti - Giovanni Colafemmina Studies Premio Giovanni Colafemmina of Acquaviva delle Fonti. A professor of principal piano at the "N. Piccini" Conservatory of Bari, he has been teaching since the age of eighteen and his forty years of experience is comforted by the success of many of his students in competitions and concerts. He regularly holds Masterclasses and Seminars.