4th International Guitar Competition Maurizio Biasini - cciMB 2018

April 27 – 2 May, 2018 – Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional – CRR de Paris

Jin-Hee Kim (26) from South Korea and Omar Nicho (25) from Peru shared the second prize (EURO 5000.- each) at the 4th International Guitar Competition Maurizio Biasini - cciMB 2018, held from 27 April – 2 May, 2018, at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional – CRR de Paris. Third prize went to the Argentinian Fabian Cardozo (31) while the first prize was not awarded. Omar Nicho also won the Savarez special prize of Euro 1000 for best performance of set piece and cciMB 2016 commissioned composition Imbricatta by Sérgio Assad, who was present at the final round for the occasion.

Through a tough online video contest among over 45 competitors, 13 standout guitarists representing 8 different countries had been selected for the semifinal round in Paris, where each performed a 30-minute program including a sonata and the cciMB 2018 commissioned composition Cantar de mio Cid by Jean-Dominique Krynen. After two days of wonderful performances and 13 quite different interpretations of the set piece, the difficult task of choosing the finalists awaited the international Jury consisting of Stephan Schmidt (Director Musik-Akademie Basel, Switzerland), David Tanenbaum (Chair of the Guitar Department, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, USA), Michael Hampel  (Vice-director of the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen, Germany, and Head of the Guitar Department), Marco Vinicio Carnicelli (Conservatorio Niccolò Piccinni di Bari, Italy), Alberto Martelli (Conservatorio Arrigo Boito di Parma, Italy), Walter Zanetti (Conservatorio G. B. Martini di Bologna, Italy) and Artistic Director Gérard Abiton. For the final round on 2 May, which included a concerto accompanied by the Orchestre des Jeunes du CRR de Paris conducted by CRR director Xavier Delette, the Jury was joined by French cellist François Salque (Conservatoir National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris – CNSDMP).

The cciMB 2018 Festival saw four amazing concerts: Gypsy jazz, flamenco and dance on Friday 27 April by Antoine Boyer, Samuelito, Sébastien Giniaux, William Brunard and Karine Gonzaliz; a Soirée médiévale on 28 April by the ensemble La Schola Alumni from Basel, Switzerland, under direction of Marc Lewon; the guitar Duo Melis on 29 April with Susana Prieto and Alexis Muzurakis; and Emanuele Buono (cciMB 2013 winner) and Quatuor Strada on 30 April at the Trianon Palace Versailles. Furthermore, Prof. Stephan Schmidt and Prof. Michael Hampel gave two Masterclasses at the Goethe-Institut Paris on 30 April. A very special event took place on 3 May, at the prestigious private club Cercle de l’Union Interalliée, where the three finalists were invited to give a short recital.

For the first time, the cciMB included a social outreach program organized in collaboration with Elías Abraham Fóscolo of the Association PlayForRights and the international solidarity and outreach movement Emmaüs International. Semifinalists were invited to play short performances in several locations in Paris and together with student of Paris conservatories gave a much-appreciated concert at the Espace Culturel Louvel-Tessier.

The cciMB competition & festival was made possible by a generous contribution of the Guth Biasini family.