Tschumi Awards for Kachaev and Provenzi
The Eduard Tschumi Music Prize, which is awarded annually to graduates of the Master’s program in Specialized Music Performance at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB), goes this year to pianist Nikita Kachaev and guitarist Samuele Provenzi.
Both won a prize of 7,000 francs each in the challenging three-part master’s examination, having received identical final grades. Pianist Nikita Kachaev earned his traditional soloist diploma, while guitarist Samuele Provenzi completed the specialization in contemporary music. With the support of the Bürgi-Willert Foundation, Provenzi will also have the opportunity to perform as a chamber music partner or soloist in the Bern Symphony Orchestra’s season program.
Nikita Kachaev completed his studies at the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory of Music in St. Petersburg under Pavel Egorov, as well as at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he also completed a postgraduate program in performance in Oleg Vainshtein’s class. In 2026, he earned a Master’s degree in Specialized Performance (Classical) from the HKB in Bern, where he studied piano with Tomasz Herbut.
Samuele Provenzi is an Italian guitarist and artistic researcher. He studied at the Liceo Musicale G. Verdi in Milan and at the conservatories in Milan and Brescia. He earned his Master’s degree in Specialized Music Performance/Contemporary Music under Elena Càsoli at the Bern University of the Arts.
