International composition competition "Vladimir Mendelssohn"
Third edition, 2024

Article 1 - Object

AscoliPicenoFestival OdV announces the third edition (2024) of the “Vladimir Mendelssohn” International Composition Competition. The competition aims to inspire young composers, in line with the values that distinguished the music and life of Vladimir Mendelssohn (1949-2021), a visionary composer, violist, educator, and artistic director.

Article 2 - Elegibility

The competition is open to composers of any nationality who are under 35 years of age by the submission deadline, that is, born after November 10, 1989.

Minors are allowed to participate. Candidates who are underage must be authorized by a parent or guardian, with the responsible party sending an email and attaching their identity document to info@vladimirmendelssohncompetition.com.

Candidates must submit a composition of duration between 5 and 8 minutes; the composition must be written for one of the following ensembles: String Quartet (2 violins, viola, cello) or String Trio (violin, viola, and cello).

By the date of the competition final (December 18, 2024), the submitted composition must be unpublished, never be publicly performed or recorded, and never submitted to other composition competitions, under penalty of immediate disqualification from the competition.

Candidates who have had any educational relationship, even occasional or in a master class, with one or more members of the jury must declare it. The related member/members of the jury won't evaluate the compositions of these candidates. Candidates who have already won a previous edition of the “Vladimir Mendelssohn” International Composition Competition are also not eligible.

Article 3 - Application

Registration must be submitted through the online form completed online by 10 November, 2024 (23.59.59 Italian time).

Each participant may submit only one composition.

Each candidate must register by following the guided procedure on the website, uploading the following documents:

• A scanned copy of an identity document certifying age

• The score of the submitted composition in PDF format, without the author's name (the author's name must not appear in the PDF file in any form)

• It is possible (not mandatory) to attach a MIDI version of the composition

• A receipt of the payment of the registration fee of 15 euros, to be made by bank transfer to the account of the AscoliPicenoFestival OdV (IBAN: IT67C0847413502000000005815; Paypal: info@ascolipicenofestival.org)

• A curriculum vitae in Italian or English

By submitting this application, the candidate confirms that:

• I am the sole author of the composition

• The composition has not been published, performed, recorded, or submitted to other competitions, has not been uploaded to any multimedia content sharing platform, and will remain unpublished, unperformed in public, unrecorded, and not submitted to other competitions until December 18, 2024.

• I have not had any educational relationships with any of the jury members or I have had educational relationships with the following jury member/s: …

• I authorize the performance, publication, recording, and dissemination of my composition within the framework of the final round of the “Vladimir Mendelssohn” International Composition Competition (in the event that my composition is selected for the final round).

The personal details of the authors of the three finalist compositions will be disclosed to the jury and the public only at the moment of the announcement of the results of the preliminary round. The personal details of the authors of compositions not admitted to the final round will remain undisclosed even after the conclusion of the competition.

Article 4 - Rounds of the competition

The competition will take place in two rounds: preliminary and final. At the end of the preliminary round, the jury will select the 3 scores that will advance to the final round. The works chosen for the final round will be announced by December 3, 2024, on the competition website and via email to the authors of the three finalist compositions.

The final round of the competition will be conducted via videoconference. The jury members and the 3 finalists will listen to the recording of the 3 finalist pieces, performed and recorded by the ensemble “I Solisti Della Benedetto Croce Chamber Orchestra”. After listening to the 3 recordings, the jury will determine the winner.

Should one of the finalists not take part in the final video conference, the organisation will inform her/him about the awarded prize via email. If the contestant should not reply to this email within three months from the final and provide the  bank details necessary to collect the prize, this will not be awarded any more.

Article 5 - Jury and voting methods

The jury will consist of five members: Ada Gentile (President), Rossella Spinosa, Roberta Vacca, Paolo Fradiani, Piero Di Egidio.

During the preliminary round the jurors will examine the candidates' scores and will indicate via telematic means the three scores selected for the final round.

During the final round, after listening to the three finalist pieces, the jury will determine the winner of the 2024 “Vladimir Mendelssohn Prize”.

Article 6 - Prizes 

• First Prize: 800 € (gross of legal deductions); publication of the composition by Edizioni Sconfinarte; Performance of the composition in at least seven concerts at the following festivals: Ascoli Piceno Festival, Festival Abruzzo Musica, Festival Internazionale del Sannio e dell’Irpinia.

• Second Prize: 400 € (gross of legal deductions).

• Third Prize: 250 € (gross of legal deductions).
  
  

THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

M° Giuliano De Angelis