Italian music teacher wins over the judges
Naples-born Giuseppe Capasso has claimed first place in the 2020 Pianist Composing Competition with his handwritten piece, Blue Habanera.
His winning piece will appear inside a Pianist issue later this year alongside an exclusive interview, and he will also receive a Kawai piano. More details of the win will be published inside issue 113 of Pianist, out on 20 March.
Pianist received over 100 entries with a range of styles and difficulty levels, which were judge meticulously by a panel of five judges consisting of Pianist editor Erica Worth, Alexis Ffrench, Nigel Scaife, John Kember and Melanie Spanswick.
But it was Giuseppe's glorious Cuban dance that caught the eye of everybody.
Alexis Ffrench comments, 'Giuseppe Capasso composed a wonderfully evocative Tango packed with stylistic authenticity and Argentinean swagger! He demonstrated a highly developed sense harmonic awareness and sensitivity to the subtle nuances of timbal "shading" that add so much to this very intimate and passionate style of music.
'The fact that he wrote the piece by hand further enhanced the sense that Giuseppe wrote this piece from such a truthful and honest perspective, and we believe him to be a most worthy winner of the Pianist 2020 Composing Competition.'
Winner Giuseppe Capasso celebrating his win
Upon hearing the news that he had won, Giuseppe commented, 'Thank you to all of you at Pianist! [I need a day to] recover from the emotion and to realise that it's all true.'
Make sure you look out for our 2021 Composing Competition later this year.
Congratulations, Giuseppe!