The Guitar competition of Alessandria was set up in 1968 to celebrate the 800th an-niversary of the City. From the very first the competition had an international flavour. It was the brainchild of Michele Pittaluga with the invaluable contribution of Andres Segovia, who was the first Honorary President. Acting on his suggestion, Alirio Diaz was called in to preside over the Jury, and until the 40th edition was responsible for artistic direction, which is now overseen by Marco Tamayo.
When Michele Pittaluga suddenly passed away in 1995 his three children took up the baton and have been running the competition ever since. The competition has seen about 150 guitarists win awards, while not assigning the first prize on some occasions.There have been over 1,500 contestants in previous editions, from 66 countries and every continent. Juries comprising the great and the good of the music world have included hundreds of world-renowned guitar experts, including Joaquin Rodrigo, Alexandre Tansman, Leo Brouwer, Oscar Ghiglia, Eliot Fisk and many others. In 1981 the competition was admitted to the World Federation of International Music Competitions, the world’s leading organisation for classical music competitions, and since 2006 to 2012 the “Pittaluga” has been member of the Executive committee of the WFIMC.Since 1995 the Competition has enjoyed the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and the Patronage of the Italian
UNESCO Commission.
In the beginning the competition was dedicated to solo guitar, but the final has involved orchestral or chamber music accompaniment since 1974. Among the most performed authors we find Joaquin Rodrigo and Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco while on other occasions new compositions promoted by the organisers have been performed. The value of the total prize money has risen over the years fe to today’s 30,000 Euros, with the overall prize growing to accommodate guitars made by the best guitar-makers, recordings with the CONSTRASTES rec. and other international labels, concerts in Italy and abroad and scholarships to important musical academies. To run alongside the main competition, Michele Pittaluga and Diaz arranged guitar courses for seven consecutive years, while Maria Luisa, Micaela and Marcello Pittaluga have, in more recent years, added many initiatives to the main event, such as a competition for guitar compositions, a competition for young talents and concerts, amongst which the Concert for a Friend , as well as creating “guitar corners” in the most evocative parts of the city and setting up the Chitarre in Corsia project where artists play in local hospitals and retirement homes.In 2020 produced Pittaluga ON AIR, a 6-episode online broadcast with guests and awards, replacing the live competition due to Covid. The 55th edition will be held in 2023.
Michele Pittaluga born in Alessandria in 1918, only child of parents who brought him into contact with music from a very early age. His great interest for cultured music and art in all its different forms saved him from the terrible experiences of the war. Taken prisoner by
the Germans in 1943, he was interned in several different concentration camps where he met some prisoners with whom he formed a small chamber music group. Some of these concerts were even broadcast over the German radio. He returned to Italy in September 1945 and after finishing his studies at the Faculty of Pure Chemistry and Pharmachology he embarked on a very successful career as a chemist. From that moment on he divided his life equally between work and his various artistic interests. After having co-operated in the realization of musical seasons for some cultural asso-ciations and having contributed as critic to some national papers and magazines, he was ap-pointed Principal of the music high school Liceo Musicale «A.Vivaldi» in 1965. In 1971, thanks to his determination and his intervention, it became a State Conservatory. He remained its Principal till 1982. During that time he set up one of the first experimental chairs in classical guitars at the Vivaldi conservatory. His frequent visits to concert halls all over Italy gave him the opportunity of getting to know the most famous interpreters of Classical Music, one of whom was the great Spanish guitarist, Andrés Segovia. In 1968 he set up the competition «Concorso Inter-nazionale di Chitarra di Alessandria», with Andrés Segovia as honorary president and Alirio Diaz as president of the jury, thus becoming one of the most renowned figures in the international guitar scenario. He received countless acknowledgements thanks to his great culture and to his relentless efforts as a promoter of music, was invited as a member of the jury in many international music contests and had musical and artistic links with numerous important cultural foundations.
