Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition

The competition was started in 1968 by musicologist Dr. Michele Pittaluga [5] (b. Jan 1915 - d. June 1995) as the "City of Alessandria Prize", to mark the 800th anniversary of the city. It gained early support from Andrés Segovia, who was the first Honorary President. Acting on his suggestion, Alirio Díaz was called to preside over the Jury for the first 30 editions, then acting as Artistic Director until the 40th edition, which is now overseen by Marco Diaz Tamayo. Alirio Díaz remained the Honorary President of the competition until his death in 2016.

In the beginning, the competition was dedicated to solo guitar. For the first years, i.e. from the 7th to 11th edition, the performance was accompanied by the orchestra indeed, but the concerto was only partially performed. The competition winner would perform it in its entirety during the final awards ceremony. From the 12th edition, the final performance was accompanied by piano and only the competition winner performed the concerto with the orchestra during the awards ceremony. Occasionally, the performance with orchestra was substituted by a string quartet. The finals have involved orchestral or chamber music since 1974. Since 1981, in response to the directives of the WFIMC, the program of the Competition has been extended to repertoires with orchestra or string quartet.

The competition was made up of two rounds i.e. Qualifying Round and Final Round, from the year of establishment to 1996. Since the 30th edition, the competition has been made up of three rounds: Preliminary Round, Semi-Final Round, and Final Round.

After the death of Dr. Michele Pittaluga, in June 1995, the name of the competition was changed to "Michele Pittaluga International Guitar Competition - Premio Citta di Alessandria" and now organized by the Organising Committee of the Classical Guitar Competition "Michele Pittaluga" (Comitato Promotore del Concorso di Chitarra Classica "Michele Pittaluga") that has, as part of its constitution, the commitment to spreading the knowledge of the guitar repertoire, promoting new talents and supporting initiatives in favor of these goals. His three children, Maria Luisa, Micaela, and Marcello Pittaluga have been running the competition ever since. Micaela Pittaluga became the Head of Organising Committee, President of the Competition, and Marcello became the permanent Secretary of the Jury. Also, the same year Competition has been placed under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy and under the Patronage of UNESCO Italian Commission.

The value of the first prize has risen over the years from Italian Lire 500000 to Euro 10000. Naxos Records contract and a concert tour became repetitive parts of the award. The Golden Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic awarded since 1997.[6]

In 1997 a separate competition was created, entitled International Composition Competition for Classical Guitar "Michele Pittaluga" with the idea of expanding the contemporary guitar repertoire.

In 2014 the International Junior Talents Competition "Pittaluga Junior" was founded.

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