Competition Results

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas from Logroño, Spain wins
2006 Parkening International Guitar Competition,
the world’s preeminent classical guitar competition
with largest prize purse

June 2, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA

Malibu, CA, June 2—Christopher Parkening and Pepperdine University today announced the winner of the first Parkening International Guitar Competition, Pablo Sáinz-Villegas from Spain. He performed the Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra onstage at the Smothers Theatre, on campus in Malibu. He received a brilliant golden medallion, The Stotsenberg Prize, from Dorothy Stotsenberg of Malibu, CA. In addition to the Stotsenberg Prize of $25,000, the first-place Sáinz-Villegas wins a professionally managed performance tour of recitals and concerts with orchestra in 2007.

The Parkening International Guitar Competition, the world’s preeminent guitar competition with the largest prize purse of any classical guitar competition, began May 31, and culminated tonight, on the University’s campus in Malibu, California.

The Silver Medalist, Petrit Ceku, received $10,000 in addition to his medal; the Bronze Medalist, Roberto Morón Pérez, was awarded $5,000.

Three chosen soloists, Sáinz-Villegas, along with Ceku and Morón Pérez, each performed a concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra tonight. The winner was announced after a short deliberation by the judging panel.

The final round competitors, narrowed to just three select guitarists from a pool of 15 talented competitors, were: Petrit Ceku, 20, Zagreb, Croatia; Roberto Morón Pérez, 26, Madrid, Spain; and Pablo Sáinz Villegas, 28, Logroño, Spain.

These three along with Michael Bautista, 27, Cupertino, CA and Robert Belinić, 24, Popovača, Croatia, competed in the semi-final round on June 1.

Other competitors included: András Csáki, 24, Budapest, Hungary; João Paulo Figueiroa, 26, Tallahasse, FL (Brazil); Christian Haimel, 25, Linz, Austria; Fan-Chen Huang, 22, Los Angeles, CA (Taiwanese-American); Samuel Klemke, 27, Weimar, Germany; Goran Krivokapić, 27, Köln, Germany (Montenegro); Marco Sartor, 27, Charleston, SC (Uruguay); Jorgen Skogmo, 23, Skogn, Norway; Andrew Stroud, 25, Safety Harbor, FL (UK-US Citizen); and Edward Trybek, 24, Pasadena, CA.

All the competitors performed on the first full day of the competition (May 31); five semi-finalists were then selected to proceed to the second day. Required repertoire for the Parkening is quite demanding and finalists are judged on musicianship, tone, technique, and stage presence.

The panel of judges for the live performance portion of the competition were guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk, seven-time GRAMMY® award-winning recording producer Thomas Frost, cello virtuoso Lynn Harrell, Sony BMG Masterworks President Gilbert Hetherwick, and Director of Artists and Special Projects for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Miryam Yardumian. This panel of distinguished representatives from various fields of classical performance and artistic management determined which competitors advance at each level.

The finalists vied for cash awards that total in excess of US $50,000. The fourth and fifth prizewinners received $1,000 each. Awards of $500 are given to each of the remaining 10 finalists.

Pablo Sáinz Villegas

Pablo Sáinz Villegas was born in Spain in 1977. He has been a soloist with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the New York Virtuosi Chamber Symphony, Orchestra I Pomerigi Musicali and Orquesta de Radio Television Espanola. The recipient of 25 international awards including the "Andres Segovia" Award, he has participated in international festivals in Brazil, Granada, and Strassburg.

Sáinz Villegas has performed for ABC, BBC, Radio 2 Clasica RNE, TVE, Radio France and Euroradio. He recorded Luciano Berio's Sequenza XI and released a recording of Spanish music for the Naxos label. The CD features the world premiere recording of Five Anecdotes by Andres Segovia and Sonata-Fantasia by Federico Moreno-Torroba and it was selected as "CD of the Week" by Music Heute magazine. Sáinz Villegas' live recording of the Concierto de Aranjuez with the Orquesta de Radio Television Espanola, conducted by Adrian Leaper, was released by the RVTE label for their "Clasicos Espanoles" collection.

George Crumb, Cristobal Halffter and Helmut Lachenmann are some of the prominent composers with whom Sáinz Villegas has worked. He has performed in 21 countries on various stages, from New York's Carnegie Hall to Milan's Sala Verdi. Sáinz Villegas has given master classes at many universities, including the Royal College of Music in London and the Australian National University. Sáinz Villegas is currently a student of David Starobin at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.