Central Switzerland Culture Prize for Graziella Contratto
The Schwyz pianist, conductor and cultural manager Graziella Contratto has been awarded the 2015 Central Switzerland Culture Prize, which is endowed with 25,000 francs.
With this award, the Central Switzerland Cultural Foundation honors, in its own words, "an outstanding personality who, as a musician, conductor and cultural mediator, has made a significant contribution to musical creation in Central Switzerland and far beyond".
Graziella Contratto studied piano and music theory in Lucerne, Winterthur and Zurich and trained as a conductor at the Basel Music Academy. After an assistantship with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, she conducted the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie between 2003 and 2009. From 2007 to 2013 she was director of the Davos Festival - young artists in concert, and since 2010 she has been head of the music department at Bern University of the Arts (HKB).
The 2015 Central Switzerland Culture Prize will be awarded on Saturday, September 12, 2015 in the canton of Schwyz.
