Associazione Musicale Rina Sala Gallo (Monza)
A non-profit association, it was founded in 1984 with the aim of spreading, particularly among young people, the love for classical music.
The Association is named after the well-known Monza pianist Rina Sala Gallo (1898 – 1980), who in 1947 created, along with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, the Piano Competition named after her to remember her piano and teaching activity. Members of the Association may be persons, public or private institutions that apply for it or are invited by the Board of Directors and share the Association’s cultural and dissemination purposes.
From 1984 to 2009, the Association was chaired by Rina Sala Gallo’s nephew, Gianna Garbagnati (now honorary president), who dedicated years of passionate enthusiasm to the Competition and promoted its development into an international event, thus reaching the coveted milestone of recognition of the Competition as a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in Geneva in 2009. From 2010 to 2017 the former vice-president Silvio Usellini chaired the Association. Today, the president is Alessandra Garbagnati.
Our Mission
The Association’s main activity is the organization of the Piano Competition, which has been held every two years since 1970. The Competition is an activity based on volunteering both in terms of organization and hospitality to the competitors.
There are many families in Monza who host young pianists for free or make their home piano available to study. The Competition is not the Association’s only activity. The Association also organizes other events in Monza and beyond, collaborating with the best pianists who took part to the competition so to continue its purpose of promoting young talents and disseminating music.
The piano, the instrument of Sala Gallo and Benedetti Michelangeli, is the center and heart of a cultural and educational activity not exclusively aimed at enthusiasts. The free-of-charge nature of all competition stages and the widespread hospitality provided to finalists in the households of Monza citizens have always facilitated access to the competition, which combines competitive spirit and quality with the development of a strong relationship between the city and the young artists who come together for the competition from all over the world.
President / Alessandra Garbagnati
Promoter of the Rina Sala Gallo Competition since 1984, Alessandra Garbagnati is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions since 2009, being a testimony to the long and passionate activity of the Association. In 2009, Alessandra Garbagnati became vice-president of the Association, and has been President since 2017. From 2004 to 2009 she was a board member of Golf Club Milano. In 2008, she received the Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International’s highest award. In 2018 she received the Modoetia Corona Ferrea Award for her support and commitment to young people and music, contributing to the discovery of new talent.
Honorary Presidents: Gianna Garbagnati e Silvio Usellini
Board of Directors