The First Prize winner, Feifan Jiang, is currently conductor-in-residence with the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra and is pursuing a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He has worked with Riccardo Muti, Jorma Panula and Markus Stenz, among others, and was selected by Muti in 2024 to participate in the inaugural Italian Opera Academy in China. His success in Novara was particularly notable for the broad support he received from the different juries, representing critics, artist managers, young audiences and orchestral musicians.
Yuta Kobayashi, awarded Second Prize, studied conducting at the Tokyo College of Music with Junichi Hirokami and subsequently worked with Tatsuya Shimono, Ryusuke Numajiri and Kazuki Yamada. From 2022 until March 2026, he served as Associate Conductor of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and has also worked with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. In the final round, he conducted Richard Strauss's Don Juan.
Mauro Mariani, recipient of Third Prize and the City of Novara Jury Prize, is a conductor, cellist and composer with experience in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. He studied conducting in Weimar and has participated in international academies in Aspen, Gstaad and Zurich. Winner of the 2024 Almería International Conducting Competition, he has worked with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and several European opera companies. He is also Music and Artistic Director of the Junge Kammerphilharmonie Berlin. In Novara, he conducted the opening two movements of Dvořák's New World Symphony.
The competition's artistic director, Corinne Baroni, has overseen its development since its revival, placing particular emphasis on international participation and opportunities for emerging conductors. The next Premio Guido Cantelli is scheduled for 5–8 October 2028.
