3rd Edition of the Joaquín Rodrigo International Competition

Press release
Source: The Victoria and Joaquín Rodrigo Foundation
Lanzamiento de prensa en español

The Third Joaquín Rodrigo International Competition now has names of its own. The winners this year in the discipline of guitar are the Chilean, Carlos Pérez Gomzález (1976), the Spanish guitarist, Anabel Montesinos Aragón (Reus, 1984) and Andrey Parfinovich (1983), from Russia, the recipients of the first, second and third prizes respectively. In the category of voice, the first prize was not awarded as one of the finalists withdrew. The second prize went to Gudrún Ólafsdòttir (1977), born in Iceland, now living in Spain, and the third prize was awarded to Fabiola González Moreno (1973), from Venezuela. The Special Prize to the Best Performer of Joaquín Rodrigo’s music, common to both categories, was given to Gudrún Ólafsdòttir, who performed in the final round two Rodrigo works, "Cántico de la Esposa" and "Tríptic de Mossèn Cinto".


From May 24 to June 1, 2006, 30 musicians of 20 different nationalities participated in the Third Joaquín Rodrigo International Competition, organized by the Victoria and Joaquín Rodrigo Foundation. The final round, held in the Auditorio 400 of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, featured the three best contestants in each discipline, although early on June 1, the Venezuelan singer, Ana Lucrecia García Tellería, withdrew from the final round of the contest. Accompanying the performances of the five finalists was the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid conducted by Miguel Roa.

One of the main attractions of this competition, placing it among the most important music contests worldwide, are its prizes: two first prizes of 12,000 Euros each, two second prizes of 6,000 Euros, two third prizes of 3,000 Euros and a special prize to the best performer of Rodrigo’s music, common to both disciplines, which grants 6,000 Euros. At the same time, the careers of the winners receive a boost thanks to the organization of recital and concert tours in various countries, and the recording, sponsored by the SGAE, on DVD of the final round.

World premiere of "Toccata"
While the jury, under its president, the orchestra conductor Miguel Angel Gómez Martínez, was deliberating to determine the winners, the world premiere took place of the unpublished work for guitar, "Toccata", composed by Joaquín Rodrigo in 1933. Performed by Marcin Dylla, the Polish guitarist who was winner of the First Joaquín Rodrigo International Competition, "Toccata" was recently discovered in the Regino Sainz de la Maza Archives in Oviedo. Written at the request of the guitarist to be performed in his second concert tour of South America in 1934, it is the second piece that Rodrigo composed for guitar, following his "Zarabanda Lejana" in 1926.

---