Luciano De Crescenzo and Alessandro Haber at the third edition of the Nascimbene Award for film music

Writer and director Luciano De Crescenzo will preside over this year's award jury of the International Competition of Film Music dedicated to the composer Mario Nascimbene, promoted for the third year by "MusicArte International" in collaboration with the Municipal Administration of Orsogna (Chieti). Organiser and artistic director is the manager and composer Andrea Mascitti. Honorary President is Gian Luigi Rondi (President Ente David di Donatello).
The final evening will take place on 22 May at the 'Camillo De Nardis' Theatre in Orsogna. The jury will also include actor Alessandro Haber, composers Lino Patruno and Riccardo Giagni (author, the latter, of the music for Marco Bellocchio's last two films, 'L'ora di religione' and 'Buongiorno, notte'), musicologist and composer Vincenzo Caporaletti, film critic Ermanno Comuzio and Mario Verdone, university lecturer emeritus of film history and criticism.
Mario Nascimbene (Milan 1913 - Rome 2002) was one of the greatest composers of Italian and international cinema, author of four hundred soundtracks for films by directors such as Fellini, Rossellini, Antonioni, Vidor and Ustinov. The music for Mankiewicz's 'The Barefoot Contessa', starring Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart and Edmond O'Brien; for 'Alexander the Great', with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom; for 'A Farewell to Arms', with Rock Hudson, remain in the history of international cinema; of 'Barabbas', with Anthony Quinn, Vittorio Gassman and Silvana Mangano; of 'Solomon and the Queen of Sheba', with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida; of 'The Vikings', with Kirk Douglase and Tony Curtis; of 'Doctor Faustus', with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. He also composed the soundtracks for several television productions and documentaries. He was the first Italian composer invited to Hollywood. His awards include three Nastri d'Argento and, in 1991, a special David di Donatello for lifetime achievement.
The competition is open to composers of all nationalities. The deadline for entries is 27 March. The entry fee is €65. Participants are asked to provide an unpublished musical commentary of some scenes, lasting about five minutes, from the film "Barabba" by Richard Fleischer, for which Nascimbene wrote the soundtrack.
The Selection Jury - composed of President Silvio Feliciani (composer), Caterina Nascimbene (wife of Maestro Mario, member of the jury of the Ente David di Donatello), Ermanno Comuzio and Vincenzo Caporaletti - will view and choose six works from the submitted works, which will participate in the final evening.
The best composition will be awarded the MARIO NASCIMBENE AWARD. The winner will be recommended to film production companies and will receive a scholarship of €2,500 offered by the company ERREBIAN S.p.A. (www.errebian.it). The second and third place winners will receive a plaque and a diploma of participation. Last year's winner of the competition was Gabriele Bonolis, a 35-year-old composer from Rome.
The announcement of the competition is available on the Internet site www.nascimbeneaward.net. For information, you can contact the secretariat of the Prize by telephone/fax 0871.867734 or by e-mail at nascimbeneaward@musicarte.net.