Leipzig Opera Composition Competition Announces Winner

Italian pianist and composer Jacopo Salvatori is the first prize winner and will receive 2000 euros for this award

The competition not only promotes young artists but encourages them to musically engage with socially relevant issues. The theme for this year’s competition centered around "Truths," in which the composer would write for any voice type and piano.

The jury comprised Ulf Schirmer, Salome Kammer, Gerd Kühr, Joscha Schaback, and Olaf Wegener. Salvatori won with his piece "we wish to inform you that we have heard that tomorrow we shall die with our families."

Born in Fiesole, Florence, Salvatori’s teachers included Maurizio Baglini, Bruno Canino, Rocco Filippini, and Trio di Trieste. His most recent project as a pianist involved recording Claude Debussy's complete piano works in collaboration with the OnClassical, an Italian independent record label.

"I think that having the opportunity to express ourselves through art is nowadays a huge privilege," Salvatori told The Violin Channel. "I feel that we should take advantage of it to establish a bond with our audiences and pass on messages that have a particular meaning or a strong emotional impact.

"For this reason, I recently started exploring and experimenting on those aspects in music that belong to the psychological sphere: how certain music can influence our inner selves and arise particular emotions, how it can alter our perception of time and the world surrounding us.

"Given the theme of the composition — Truths — I felt the urge to write about a very delicate subject which we all know from history and which is yet unfortunately very present," he reflected. 

"The piece is based on texts written by people who suffered the condition of being repressed, censored, and killed during totalitarian regimes and times of genocide.

"Sadly enough, the same day I finished composing it, the military junta in Myanmar staged a coup d'etat and started exercising repression and committing brutalities throughout the country," he continued.

"To those victims, I wish to dedicate the prize won at the competition. I also plan to donate part of the reward to help people struggling with their lives there."