First International Wind Instruments Prize 'City of Vietri sul Mare – Amalfi Coast'

First International Wind Instruments Prize "City of Vietri sul Mare – Amalfi Coast". Interview with Fulvio Creux

The first "Fiati in concerto" festival, held in Marina di Vietri sul Mare a few days ago, concluded the extraordinary Vietri Cultura program, featuring over 70 free events that enlivened the warm summer nights of Vietri for the enjoyment of residents and guests. Organized by the municipal administration, led by Mayor Giovanni De Simone, with artistic direction by Maestro Luigi Avallone, the program was a resounding success with the public and widespread acclaim.

At the "Fiati in concerto" Festival, the guest conductor was Maestro Fulvio Creux, a life dedicated to music, considered the pinnacle of the transformation that began in the 1990s and led to major transformations and evolutions in the wind band world. This work is now bearing fruit and is also finding expression in Campania. Maestro Creux, you are among the four or five leading figures in this evolution worldwide. What is your immediate comment on this first Wind Band Festival organized in Vietri sul Mare?

"Unfortunately I didn't hear the first evening, where a youth band, the "Costa d'Amalfi Vietri sul Mare", performed, where I imagine the educational and training aspect prevailed; on the second date there was a professional band - meaning the level of all performers - The "Costa d'Amalfi" wind orchestra, and I was very positively impressed by the concert, both for the quality of the group and the valuable and appreciable program, an expression of local people and composers. This region, thanks also to the Salerno Conservatory and the class taught by Maestro Gino (Luigi Avallone, ed.), has been able to grasp the national and international aspects of the ongoing transformation of the world of wind bands, becoming the bearer of an innovative discourse that is no longer based on opera music but on newly created compositions.

This final evening, the "Albano Laziale" Wind Orchestra, a band that embodies a city and a community, offers yet another different offering, an expression of the traditional band that welcomes a diverse range of musicians, from young to middle-aged to older, with varying levels of training, from first-year students to professionals. This band plays a repertoire that's even different from previous evenings, a mix of original band music but also so-called transcriptions created for other groups, arranged for orchestra and adapted for band, and here too there's an innovation in the field of transcriptions. We also feature a tenor, Luca Battagello, who was chosen to pay homage to Neapolitan music.

Is a Wind Festival a common initiative in the world of Italian orchestras?

"There are some wind instrument festivals in the South, in Ferrandina and others in Puglia, but they are more closely linked to the traditional world of the band, and I say this with all due respect for this genre.

How would you envision the creation of a First International Wind Instruments Prize "City of Vietri sul Mare – Amalfi Coast", which would see the award awarded in the categories of conducting and composition?

"Very good. I remember a competition in this field organized by Avallone. We could start from that foundation. The winning pieces were performed: we could link the old competition with this possible new one."

At the conclusion of the Festival, Maestro Avallone took the opportunity to launch, together with the mayor, the First International Wind Instruments Prize "City of Vietri sul Mare – Amalfi Coast".

"To conclude this wonderful first Wind Instrument Festival, we want to launch the First International Wind Instrument Prize "Città di Vietri sul Mare – Costiera Amalfitana" for next year, which will be awarded in the conducting and composition categories. With this prize, we are filling a void and at the same time giving due recognition to those who excel in conducting and composition, encouraging artists to aim ever higher with this healthy artistic and musical competition."