The twelfth “Nikolaus de la Flüe” piano competition, organized by the Magnificat Institute of the Custody of the Holy Land was held from 28th to 30th January 2011 in the auditorium of St. Saviour’s Convent in Jerusalem.
The Magnificat’s “Piano Competition” is the oldest musical competition in the Holy Land for young Palestinian pianists, including Arabs holding Israeli passports. The aim of the competition is to identify and stimulate talented young musicians to popularize Western classical music in the context of Arab society, historically less interested in this type of repertoire.
The majority of the thirty entrants belonged to the ten-fifteen age group, whilst four participants were under ten and only one was nineteen years old. The contestants came from Jerusalem, Nazareth, Shafa-Amer, Abu Gosh, Ramle, Bethlehem and Beit Shaur; for those from these last two places, a specific visa had been issued by the Israeli authorities as the cities of Bethlehem and Beit Shahur are part of the territories governed by the Palestinian National Authority.
Accompanied by their parents and teachers (mostly Russian teachers with Israeli citizenship), the competitors were divided into categories in relation to their age and the difficulty of the compulsory pieces to be played, including some counterpoint inventions by Father Armando Pierucci, the founder and director of the Magnificat, and the Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, in addition to an optional piece of the same calibre. The jury, chaired by Father Pierucci, was made up of the teachers and musicians Romano Zancan, Anna Lisa Ogeniti and Angelino Rampazzo (Vicenza), Nancy Romano (Rome) and Alhan Ashkar Hilo (Nazareth).
As from this year, the main sponsor of the event is the Swiss association Friends of the Magnificat, who wanted to name the competition in honour of St. Nikolaus de la Flüe, patron saint of Switzerland; in previous years, the competition had been named after Carlo Tavasani who, with his mother Anita Crasnich, who recently passed away, was remembered in the course of the last evening.
In addition to the prizes and the certificates, some of the winners will have the chance to perform in March in Lugano and Geneva, whilst others will be giving concerts in Italy in June.
The Magnificat’s piano competition offers a competition linked to other prizes as well, such as the one in memory of Giuseppina Zeppilli, the Qattan Foundation prize and the prize linked to the support given by the Italian bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which involved the performance of a piece for two pianos and choir with the participation of the female choir Yasmeen, conducted by Hania Sabbara, the educational director of the Magnificat. In view of the importance of the event, the final evening was recorded by “Palestine TV” which will broadcast it in full.
Brother Riccardo Ceriani
The Magnificat’s “Piano Competition” is the oldest musical competition in the Holy Land for young Palestinian pianists, including Arabs holding Israeli passports. The aim of the competition is to identify and stimulate talented young musicians to popularize Western classical music in the context of Arab society, historically less interested in this type of repertoire.
The majority of the thirty entrants belonged to the ten-fifteen age group, whilst four participants were under ten and only one was nineteen years old. The contestants came from Jerusalem, Nazareth, Shafa-Amer, Abu Gosh, Ramle, Bethlehem and Beit Shaur; for those from these last two places, a specific visa had been issued by the Israeli authorities as the cities of Bethlehem and Beit Shahur are part of the territories governed by the Palestinian National Authority.
Accompanied by their parents and teachers (mostly Russian teachers with Israeli citizenship), the competitors were divided into categories in relation to their age and the difficulty of the compulsory pieces to be played, including some counterpoint inventions by Father Armando Pierucci, the founder and director of the Magnificat, and the Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, in addition to an optional piece of the same calibre. The jury, chaired by Father Pierucci, was made up of the teachers and musicians Romano Zancan, Anna Lisa Ogeniti and Angelino Rampazzo (Vicenza), Nancy Romano (Rome) and Alhan Ashkar Hilo (Nazareth).
As from this year, the main sponsor of the event is the Swiss association Friends of the Magnificat, who wanted to name the competition in honour of St. Nikolaus de la Flüe, patron saint of Switzerland; in previous years, the competition had been named after Carlo Tavasani who, with his mother Anita Crasnich, who recently passed away, was remembered in the course of the last evening.
In addition to the prizes and the certificates, some of the winners will have the chance to perform in March in Lugano and Geneva, whilst others will be giving concerts in Italy in June.
The Magnificat’s piano competition offers a competition linked to other prizes as well, such as the one in memory of Giuseppina Zeppilli, the Qattan Foundation prize and the prize linked to the support given by the Italian bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which involved the performance of a piece for two pianos and choir with the participation of the female choir Yasmeen, conducted by Hania Sabbara, the educational director of the Magnificat. In view of the importance of the event, the final evening was recorded by “Palestine TV” which will broadcast it in full.
Brother Riccardo Ceriani