The third edition of the international competition “ The Soloist with Orchestra ” awarded two very young pianists during the evening held at the Civic Theatre of Sassari. The winner was Vassa Atanasova , 16 years old, from Sofia. Second place went to Raffaele Crobu , 17, from Cagliari.
The two piano virtuosos enchanted the audience at the Sassari theatre in an exciting final concert, masterfully accompanied by the Ars Musicandi orchestra conducted by Maestro Pio Salotto of the Cagliari Conservatory.
After performing Beethoven's Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Opus 19, Atanasova expressed great satisfaction with the idea of an international competition in Sassari, characterized by "an accurate evaluation method, which allowed us to demonstrate the participants' progression thanks to lessons with the teachers."
Crobu, who performed Mozart's KV 414 in A major, also expressed his excitement: "It's an unexpected result, the fruit of working with such high-level artists. I'll take with me a great deal of satisfaction and the desire to continue improving."
The two winners will have the opportunity to perform on the stages of Italy, Bulgaria, and Spain in the 2025-2026 concert season in the coming weeks. This special recognition was also awarded to Sardinians Luca Delogu from Sassari and Damiano Maxia from Olbia , who reached the final stages of the contest.
The contest is promoted by the CISM – International Center for Musical Studies association in collaboration with Musicando Insieme.
