Viotti International Music Competition
The Viotti International Music Competition (), named after the Italian composer and violinist Gian (Giovanni) Battista Viotti (1755–1824), is held every year in Vercelli, Piedmont. It was founded by violinist Joseph Robbone in 1950 and has been, since 1957, a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The competition is dedicated primarily to piano and opera singing, with rotating categories of voice (even numbered years), piano (odd numbered years), but also features sections for violin, chamber music, oboe, guitar, dance and composition, among others. In the fifty years since its inception, thousands of competitors have  taken part, many of whom have reached international fame. They include Luigi Alva, Claudio Abbado, Cathal Breslin, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Nicola Martinucci, Salvatore Accardo, Joaquín Achúcarro, Daniel Barenboim, Renato Bruson, Piero Cappuccilli, Raina Kabaivanska, Sumi Jo, Yeol Eum Son, Jeanne You, Violetta Egorova. The judges have included Franco Corelli, Carlo Maria Giulini, Klaus Hellwig, Yehudi Menuhin, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Birgit Nilsson, Carl Orff, Aureliano Pertile, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Renata Scotto, Joan Sutherland, and Richard Aaker Trythall, Raina Kabaivanska.