Last Sunday, the cciMB 2018 semifinal round, which saw the performances of 13 extremely well-prepared young guitarists, came to an end. After a long discussion, the international Jury selected the following finalists: Fabian Cardozo (31) from Argentina and Jin-Hee Kim (32) from South Korea, both living in Switzerland, and Omar Nicho (25) from Chile. On Wednesday 2 May (19:00) at the CRR de Paris, each will play a concerto (Concierto del Sur by Manuel M. Ponce or Concert no. 1 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco) accompanied by the Orchestre des Jeunes du CRR de Paris conducted by Xavier Delette, director of the CRR. In addition, they will perform Imbricatta, the cciMB 2016 commissioned composition by Sergio Assad, who will join the Jury for the occasion as well as the French cellist François Salque.

For the first time, the cciMB Competition & Festival at the CRR de Paris on rue de Madrid 14 will host a luthier exhibition, from Friday 27 until Sunday 29 April. Four young talented luthiers have been invited to present their work: French luthiers Sylvain Balestrieri (Grenoble)  and Bertrand Ligier (Connaux)  and German luthiers Jost von Huene (Dresden) and Daniel Stark (Oldenburg). This will be a unique opportunity for the semifinalists, CRR students and festival attendees to admire and try out these beautiful, handmade instruments of fine quality.

Entrance to many of the cciMB 2018 events is free.

Semifinal round  - CRR de Paris  - 28 and 29 April from 10.00 - 13:00 and 14:30 - 17:30 

Final round concert - CRR de Paris  - 2 May 2018 at 19:00

Masterclasses - Goethe-Institute Paris  - 30 April 10:30 - 12:45 (Prof. Michael Hampel) and 13:30 - 15:45 (Prof. Stephan Schmidt)

Luthier exhibition - CRR de Paris - 28 and 29 April (continuous)

cciMB 2018 Social outreach concert - Espace Culturel Louvel-Tessier - 3 May,  19:30

For the cciMB 2018 Festival concerts on 27, 28 and 29 April at the CRR de Paris, please check out our concert ticket page.

The cciMB has started a collaboration with Emmaüs International, an international solidarity and outreach movement founded in Paris in 1949 to combat poverty and homelessness. We believe art, in particular music, is a powerful and effective means to connect people of different social and cultural backgrounds. As an outreach project, the cciMB 2018 will offer over 25/30 free seats to homeless people and/or refugees for each of the concerts on 27, 28 and 29 April at the CRR de Paris. Furthermore, on Thursday 3 May, the cciMB 2018 organising team, as well as interested semifinalists and guitar students from certain conservatories in Paris will visit the Espace Culturel Louvel-Tessier, where a concert will be given the evening.

Small gestures (...) are never a waste of time. A little gesture or small act is worth much more than a grand, beautiful dream that never becomes a reality. It’s by taking action that we’ll change things for the better. (...) That’s what solidarity is all about.” - Abbé Pierre (Father Henri-Antoine Groues) founder of Emmaus.

François Salque, cellist chair at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSDMP) and the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU), is joining the cciMB 2018 Jury for the final round on 2 May 2018. Acclaimed for his profound musical thinking and phenomenal technique, François has already performed as a soloist and as chamber musician in over fifty countries with some of the world’s most renowned artists (Jean-Claude Pennetier, Alexandre Tharaud, Michel Portal, Paul Meyer, among others). Together with Pierre Fouchenneret (violin), Sarah Nemtanu (violin) and Lise Berthaud (alto violin) he founded the Quatuor Strada string quartet which is scheduled to perform a concert accompanying cciMB 2013 winner Emanuele Buono on 30 April 2018 at the Trianon Palace Versailles.

We are pleased to announce our new partner Musiques à Versailles, organiser of a celebrated concert series and other cultural events that take place in the beautiful, historical buildings of Versailles, like the Trianon Palace Versailles, Cathédrale Saint Louis, Théàtre Montansier, Synagogue de Versailles and the Salons de l’Hôtel de Ville. On 30 April 2018, as part of the cciMB 2018 Festival, Musiques à Versailles will host cciMB 2013 winner Emanuele Buono and string quartet Quatuor Strada for a concert at the Trianon Palace Versailles.

Congratulations to the semifinalists of the cciMB 2018! With so many excellent guitarists participating, the Jury had a challenging job coming to a final decision. We would like to thank all participants for sharing with us their wonderful performances.

From left to right:

Top: Alec Holcomb (USA), Yuval Teeni (Israel), Carlo Curatolo (Italy), Fabian Cardozo (Argentina/Switzerland), Carlotta Dalia (Italy), Clément Charpentier (France)

Middle: Jin Hee Kim (South Korea), Daniela Rossi  (Argentina/Italy), Luis Guevara (Chile), Damiano Pisanello (Switzerland), Marco Piperno (Italy), Cassie Martin (France)

Bottom: Flavio Nati (Italy), Pasquale Vitale (Italy), Andrea Roberto (Italy), Omar Nicho (Peru), Karmen Stendler (Slovenia)

The International Guitar Competition Maurizio Biasini (cciMB) & Festival  is pleased to announce its 4^th edition, to be hosted by the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional (CRR) de Paris, France, from April 27 – May 2, 2018, under Artistic Director Gérard Abiton. This unique contest, which rotates its location between important cities of music in Europe and the USA, offers young classical guitarists the opportunity to “meet, exchange, compete and learn”, in an informal, stimulating environment. With € 20’000 total prize money at stake, participants need to tackle a challenging program, including a commissioned composition by Jean-Dominique Krynen and a concert with orchestra in the final round. In addition to the € 12’000 cash prize, the winner of the competition will be invited to give solo recitals in various European cities: Basel (Rising Stars series of the Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft), Bologna and Paris. At least twelve semifinalists will be chosen through an online video audition by the international Jury composed of prominent musicians and guitarists: Gérard Abiton (F), Michael Hampel (D), Stephan Schmidt (CH), David Tanenbaum (USA), Marco Vinicio Carnicelli, Alberto Martelli, and Walter Zanetti (I). We are looking forward to welcoming you to the wonderful City of Paris.