Letter by the Artistic Director

Dear participants of the First International Piano Competition “Città di Arona",

I'm Irene Veneziano, the artistic director of the Competition.

First of all, I would like to thank all of you, your parents and your teachers for trusting this initiative: the number of applications that we received (155!) despite the unfavorable period has moved me and has fully paid off the enormous work that is accomplished when a competition is organized, in particular for the first time, a task that I have done with great enthusiasm and sincere passion, with the support of my collaborators.

Yesterday the Italian Government has enacted a decree that prohibits the realization of any public event until April 3rd, 2020.

I have the possibility to hold the Competition on the same dates with “closed doors”, i.e. without the presence of the public during the auditions, and without the concert of the winners.

I thought this is not a good solution for the reasons that I would like to share with you.

First of all, even by applying appropriate safety measures, I don’t find it appropriate to put everyone's health at risk, although small, and I wouldn’t feel like taking this responsibility.

Secondly, for competitors coming from abroad there would be many complications due to the cancellation of their flights and to the disposition of their governments.

Finally, most important of all, the beauty and usefulness of a competition consist precisely in the exchange that takes place between all the people involved, in performing in front of others, in making new friends and acquaintances, in falling in love with new works never listened to before. The motto that I wanted to associate with the Competition would therefore disappear: "Music has a wonderful potential to bring together people with the same passion".

For all these reasons, I have decided to postpone the date of the Competition, presumably in May.

I believe it is premature to establish a precise date now, given that the news can change from hour to hour. I intend to wait for the next provisions of the government to promptly notify you the change of the dates. In any case, you will be notified at least one month before the new dates.

I would be very happy if you want to wait for the new dates to tell us if you still have the desire and the opportunity to participate in our Competition.

In case you no longer have the opportunity to participate in the Competition on the new dates for previous commitments, we will refund the participation fee already paid.

In the event that someone of you wants to give up their participation now, we will refund the fee in the next few days.

I therefore look forward to your individual choice in order to proceed.

I just have to offer you my best regards and wish us that this difficult and unexpected situation can be solved in the shortest possible time.

We have music with us, our great strength, the universal language that never stops to infuse joy and hope, and that helps us to grow up and to become better people.

Irene Veneziano