First International Piero Farulli Competition for Junior String Quartets October 23-25, 2020, Fiesole School of Music “I don’t think there is an instrumental ensemble that has been penetrated as deeply by musical thought as the String Quartet, which, as a musical vessel, has plumbed the deepest of seas. After almost 250 years, it is still impossible for the string quartet to be reduced to the sum of its parts. Instead, it presents itself as one instrument speaking with voices that are at the same time individual and unanimous, independent and homogeneous. It’s as if it were a paradigm for an ideal society.” Luciano Berio The First International Piero Farulli Competition for Junior String Quartet is dedicated to young quartets (average age: 18 years) and is the first international model of this kind. Experiencing music through the high road of the string quartet means discovering the deepest secret of this art: making music together! Playing in a quartet means to learn to communicate among peers, to become acquainted with one another, to learn to respect one another’s rhythm, to breathe together, to learn to listen in order to begin communicating. The jury will be led by Bruno Giuranna, violist and chamber music player of world renown, as well as a good friend and admirer of Maestro Farulli. He is president of E.S.T.A Europe. He will be joined by Helen Poggio (Quiroga Quartet – Spain), Edoardo Zosi (Adorno Quartet – Italy), Misia Sofia Jannoni (Werther Quartet – Italy). The Competition will take place at the Fiesole School of Music on the 23rd and 24th of October 2020. Prizes amount to a total of €7000 plus a performance at guests of the Florence Friends of Music Association. A total of €7,000 will be awarded in prizes: €3,200 – first prize, €2,000 – second prize, €1,000 – third prize. There will also be a special award of €800 for the best performance of a winning composition from the previous edition of the Piero Farulli International Composition Competition” and, finally, an “encouragement” award of  €400.00 for the youngest quartet to participate in the competition. The deadline for registration (including video material) is September 29, 2020. The announcement and application form are available for download at www.associazionepierofarulli.com or www. farulli100.com   On October 25, 2020, the winning quartets will perform in a public concert for the Florence Friends of Music (Amici della Musica) in the chamber hall of  the Teatro della Pergola in Florence. For information write to info@farulli100.com