Six days dedicated to exploring, studying and sharing the repertoire for string quartet in the hills of Alto Monferrato. The masterclass grants the possibility of having an intense experience with the professors, as well as moments of exchange and conviviality with the fellow students, in an environment specially dedicated to focusing on the music.
The main focus of the course will be on repertoire from all ages and styles, with a minimum of five 2-hour lessons for each quartet.
A concert by Lyskamm Quartett will be held on the third day of the masterclass, while the students will play during the fifth day of the course in a public concert organised by Foresty International Music Festival.
Casa della Musica structure offers a live-room with a modular acoustics, several spaces for studying, a garden and a Spa for relaxing – an ideal place for learning and music. Additional lessons and rehearsal spaces will be available in the village of Montaldeo.
The course is open to already-established quartets, also of new formation; a maximum of 8 quartets will be selected.
The quartets will have the possibility of having lessons with all the members of Lyskamm Quartet.
Cecilia Ziano, violin
Clara Franziska Schötensack, violin
Francesca Piccioni, viola
Giorgio Casati, cello
The Lyskamm Quartet was founded in 2008 at the Milan Conservatory. In 2016 the Borletti Buitoni Trust awarded the Lyskamm Quartet the special prize for chamber music named in memory of Claudio Abbado and which opened the quartet to an international career.
The quartet received the second prize and the special Pro Quartet prize at the international competition Franz Schubert und die Musik der Moderne in Graz, the Vittorio Rimbotti prize of the European Quartet Academy, the Jeunesse Musicale Deutschland prize, the studio of the Ad Infinitum Foundation and the first prize in the competition of the Possehl Stiftung in Lübeck and in the Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award in Lugano. The Lyskamm Quartet has been a guest in Italy and Europe, including the Società del Quartetto di Milano, Musicainsieme Bologna, the Festival Mito, the Unione Musicale and Lingotto Musica in Turin, the I Suoni delle Dolomiti festival, Gli Amici della Musica di Firenze, the international Quatuor festival in Bordeaux, the Aldeburgh Music Festival, the Brahms Festival in Lübeck and the Rheingau Musik Festival, Oxford University.
The quartet was a quartet in residence at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and at the Amici della Musica of Padua.
The Lyskamm Quartet continued and completed its specialization under the guidance of Heime Müller at the Hochschüle für Musik in Lübeck.
In 2019, the CD dedicated to Bartok’s quartets was released with the magazine Amadeus, now reissued by NovAntiqua Records.
Attendance as an actual student is €200; free access for auditors (subject to availability).
Lessons begin on 25/08/2025 and end on 30/08/2025 (total no. 6 effective days).
The course will be held in English/Italian.
Lessons will be held at CDM’s premises.
The cost of the course includes:
Deadline for registration is 3 June 2025.
A fee of €50 must be paid at the time of registration.
Payment details:
Account holder: Associazione Montaldeo Musica
IBAN: IT02V0326848450052776248700
BIC/SWIFT: SELBIT2BXXX
Reason of payment: Name and Surname, music masterclass
By 29 April you will be informed about the selection of the participants to the masterclass; in case of non-selection, the registration fee of €50 will be refunded.
Payment of the course fee, amounting to €200, must be made by 10 June.
The accommodation fee of €300 will be paid on site, upon arrival. Any payment and bank charges are the responsibility of the applicant.
In the event of late payment, for which bank transfer date of sending is decisive, a late payment fee of €75 will be charged.
Prices are meant per person, but feel free to make a single payment per quartet
(total registration fee: 200€; total course fee 800€; total accommodation fee 1000€)
Casa San Michele offers accommodation in affiliated facilities (flats) for the duration of the course. If necessary, the flats are available to those who wish to stay the night before the course begins (subject to booking) at an additional cost of €25 per night.
The cost includes accommodation in a shared flat with a room equipped with bed sheets, use of CDM’s SPA and practice spaces, and 3 dinners during the course, served at CDM’s facility.
Water, fruit and snacks are always available in the CDM common area; other meals will be considered extra.
The remaining meals are at the discretion of the participants: all flats are equipped with an essential kitchen and a small pantry (coffee, pasta, oil, salt and other essentials). An affiliated restaurant is located a short distance away (3.4 km); if necessary, the organisation can offer a transfer service to and from the restaurant (free of charge and by prior arrangement). For use of the SPA, rubber slippers (non-slip), a towel and a swimming costume are obligatory.
The balance of any extras can also be settled on site by credit or debit card, bank transfer or cash. Please note that there are no tobacconists, pharmacies, grocery shops or ATMs in the village of Montaldeo; all the necessary services can be easily reached by car or bicycle in the neighbouring villages.
Upon request, at the beginning of the course, the organisation offers to buy and provide (free of extra-charge) any needed product (such as groceries, tobaccoes, toilet articles, etc.).
NOTE: The organisation can accommodate up to 24 people (6 quartets). In case of more participants (maximum 8 quartets), the organisation can reccommend nearby private structures for the accommodation; in that case the accommodation is up to the participants, and they will not need to pay the accommodation fee to CdM. Precedence for accommodation at CDM will be to early applicants, except for special needs.
The nearest railway stations are Ovada, Novi Ligure, Arquata Scrivia; a transfer service is available from the arrival station to Montaldeo at a cost of €15. The nearest airports are Turin, Milan, Genoa, with respective train connections. For those travelling by car, Google Maps shows the exact location by searching for “Casa San Michele Montaldeo”; the nearest motorway exits are Ovada (A26), Novi Ligure (A26/A7), Arquata Scrivia (A7).
Registration fees, net of bank charges, will not be refunded under any circumstances (save for the initial fee of €50 in case of non-selection), except in the event of cancellation of a course due to force majeure or failure to reach a minimum number of participants. The accommodation fee will not be charged in the event of cancellation by the member.
Casa San Michele di Giulia Pastorino // Partita IVA: IT02568410068
