Tirana Music Festival to hold fifth edition

TIRANA, March 30 – The Albania capital is preparing to host the 5th edition of the Tirana Music Festival, an event which aims at promoting young Albanian talent guided by renowned Italian musicians. The festival, scheduled from April 22 to 29, will bring concerts, master classes, conferences and cultural exchanges between Albanian young musicians and Italian maestros. Young Albanian musicians from Kosovo, FYROM and Montenegro are also expected to participate in the master classes by the Italian maestros.
The festival will open on April 22 with a concert by the “Big Band” wind orchestra of the Academy of Arts conducted by Fatos Qerimi. Italian pianist Giuliano Mazzolante will also perform on April 24.
Meanwhile, students will demonstrate what they learned from their master classes in two concerts on April 25 and 27 at the Zadeja hall of the Academy of Arts. The professors of master classes will also give a concert on April 26.
Albanian pianist Anila Kraja will perform for the public on April 28.
The festival will close on April 29 with a concert by Tirana’s Chamber Orchestra with Italian clarinetist Piero Vincenti as a conductor.
Since 2006, the Tirana Music Festival has been supported by the International Music Academy of Perugia (Italy) with the cooperation of the Academy of Arts in Tirana, the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute.
Italian maestro Piero Vincenti and the Albania’s Marsida Koni are the artistic directors of the Tirana Music Festival.
The maestros have granted 60 scholarships to the best competitors during the past four editions in which competition has been fierce, according to the festival’s organizers. Last year, the 35 Albanian musicians of the Tirana Music Festival Orchestra went to Italy to perform during the Umbria summer festival.
During the past four editions, the Tirana Music Festival held 25 concerts in the Tirana, Durres and Elbasan.