Competition

Program

1st Round

1. One of the following sonatas for solo violin by Johann Sebastian Bach (at the Contestant’s choice).

Sonata in G minor, BWV 1001

Sonata in A minor, BWV 1003

Sonata in C major, BWV 1005

2. One Caprice for solo violin by Niccolò Paganini (at the Contestant’s choice), except the following:

Caprice No. 13

Caprice No. 14

Caprice No. 16

Caprice No. 20

3. One of the following sonatas for violin and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven (at the Contestant’s choice):

Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 12/3

Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23

Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 30/1

Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30/3

4. Aram Khachaturian - Dance for violin and piano No. 1 in B-flat major*

*The scores of Aram Khachaturian's composition will be made available by the Competition.

2nd Round (semifinal)

Each Semi-finalist will perform a solo recital with maximum duration of 60 minutes, including in the program the following:

1. Franz Schubert - Sonata for violin and piano in A major, D. 574 Op. 162 “Grand Duo" It is recommended to use the Edition “G. Henle Verlag”

2. Tigran Mansurian - "Lamento" for violin solo*

*The scores of Tigran Mansurian's composition will be made available by the Competition.

3. The remaining composition(s) should be added by the Contestants choice and should show the Contestants technique and interpretation skills.

3rd Round (final) accompanied by orchestra

Each Contestant will perform 2 concertos accompanied by the orchestra. Each Contestant will have 60 minutes for rehearsal with the orchestra for each of the concertos.

1. Aram Khachaturian - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 46*

Original Cadenza

2. One of the following violin concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (the piece and Cadenza by Contestant’s choice ), which has to be performed without the conductor:

Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216

Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219

In the order determined by the drawn lots, all 4 finalists will perform one of the above-mentioned Violin concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the 1st day of the 3rd Round and Aram Khachaturian's Violin concerto on the 2nd day of the 3rd Round.

*If necessary, the scores of Aram Khachaturian's compositions will be made available by the Competition.

Jury members

Zohrab Tadevosyan

Armenia / Spain/ Chairman

Zohrab Tadevosyan is an Armenian/Spanish violinist and pedagogue. Zohrab Tadevosyan became longtime assistant for legendary Ana Chumachenco. He began to study violin at the age of 6 with his first teacher, Levon Zoryan. From the age of 13, he studied under the tutelage of his uncle, Professor Eduard Tadevosyan, who was, in turn, a disciple of the great virtuoso violinist of the 20th century Leonid Kogan. After achieving a remarkable career, in 2002 Zohrab Tadevosyan moved to Madrid and studied at the Reina Sofía School of Music with Zakhar Bron until 2003 Since 2003 he serves as an assistant concertmaster of the Orchestra of Teatro Real in Madrid. Zohrab Tadevosyan is considered an important figure on the international musical-pedagogical scene, he is primarily focused on violin pedagogy. Zohrab Tadevosyan is regularly invited at the most important European festivals and masterclasses among them, since 2016 he is invited professor at the summer course in Nagold (Germany), Malta Classical Music Academy, Academia Internacional de Musica de Cagliari, Chieti Classica, Swiss International Music Academy in Rheinau, Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg. He also shares the masterclasses with his musical mentor Prof. Ana Chumachenco, he is a guest artist at the Santander Music Festival. In addition, he teaches in Japan and is regularly invited to give masterclasses. As a Jury member he is being invited to the most important violin international competitions among them; International Luis Spor Violin Competition 2019 in Weimar, Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in 2021 in Hannover. From 2010-2020 he has served as Professor at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid along with his musical mentor, legendary Prof. Ana Chumachenco At the present he is having masterclasses all over the world.

Sergey Khachatryan

Armenia/ JURY

This 23/24 season Sergey’s international presence is sustained by performances with Dresdner Philharmonie (Emmanuel Tjeknavorian), Korean National Symphony Orchestra (Oksana Lyniv), Ulster Orchestra (Daniele Rustioni), Orchestre National de Belgique (Michael Schønwandt), Queensland Symphony (Otto Tausk), Auckland Philharmonia (Chloé van Soeterstède), Bochumer Symphoniker (Kahchun Wong), and two major tours: an extended Spanish Tour with the Basque National Orchestra (Euskadiko Orchestra) conducted by Stanislav Kochanovsky and a North American Tour with the Armenian National Philharmonic – among the destinations are Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Maison Symphonique in Montreal, and Carnegie Hall in New York. This 23/24 season Sergey’s international presence is sustained by performances with Dresdner Philharmonie (Emmanuel Tjeknavorian), Korean National Symphony Orchestra (Oksana Lyniv), Ulster Orchestra (Daniele Rustioni), Orchestre National de Belgique (Michael Schønwandt), Queensland Symphony (Otto Tausk), Auckland Philharmonia (Chloé van Soeterstède), Bochumer Symphoniker (Kahchun Wong), and two major tours: an extended Spanish Tour with the Basque National Orchestra (Euskadiko Orchestra) conducted by Stanislav Kochanovsky and a North American Tour with the Armenian National Philharmonic – among the destinations are Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Maison Symphonique in Montreal, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Highlights of the previous seasons include Sergey’s residency with Orquesta de Valencia, comprising several concerts conducted by Alexander Liebreich including a chamber project, Sergey’s residency at the BOZAR in Brussels which comprised of a pair of recitals and a concert with Orchestre National de Belgique and Hugo Wolff. Re-invitations included the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam and Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Sergey also embarked on a tour of the US and Europe with Alisa Weilierstein and Inon Barnatan with a programme entitled Transfigured Nights featuring the music of Beethoven, Schoenberg and Shostakovich. Other recent projects included a tour of Japan with the Nippon Foundation and in 2014/15 Sergey performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the Lucerne Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel as the recipient of the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the VIII International Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest-ever winner in the competition’s history. In 2005 he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

Péter Csaba

France/ JURY

Péter Csaba was from 2012 the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, and is also currently the principal guest of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra Budapest (Hungary), and prior to that, he was the artistic director and principal conductor of the Besançon Symphony Orchestra and of the “Musica Vitae” Chamber Orchestra in Sweden. He served also as a director of the Kuhmo Chamber music festival in Finland and of the Lapland Chamber music festival in Sweden. As a pedagogue he has held the Orchestra Chair at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon from 1996 to 2018. Currently he is since 2002 the Artistic Director of the "Santander Encounter of Music and Academy" in Spain. He has toured the world as both as a violinist and as a conductor, and has worked with the symphony orchestras of Berlin, Warsaw and Singapore, with the Japan Philharmonic, and both National symphony orchestra and National Opera Orchestra in Lyon (France), among many others. He has also given concerts and performed with many of the most acclaimed artists and composers of our time. Under his batton played many soloists such as Pierre Fournier, Natalia Gutman, Zoltan Kocsis, Kristyan Zimmerman, Menahem Pressler, Teresa Berganza, and worked together with many composers like Alfred Schnittke, Krzystof Penderecki, Péter Ötvös, Sofia Gubaidulina, John Corigliano. In 2001 he was elected member of the Royal Academy of Sweden. In 2017 he received the most important award of the French Republic, being the title of "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur", and the same year he became also "Knight of the White Rose of Finland". In 2021 he received the Medal of Honour of the Albéniz Foundation in Spain, and in 2023 he was awarded by Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain the "Medal of Honour" from the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid.

Vera Weiling Tsu

China/ JURY

Vera Tsu Weiling, renowned violinist and educator, Tenued Professor of Hong Kong Chinese University (Shenzhen) Conservatory, Professor and Doctor’s program advisor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Vice President of Convocation for the Founding of the String Music Society of China Musicians' Association and China Federation of Chamber Musician, the Co-Chairman of the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition as well as Chairman of Violin Jury Harbin International Music Competition. Tsu has been invited to sit on the jury of many prestigious competitions worldwide including the Queen Elizabeth Competition of Belgium (in 2009 and 2012), Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition Poznan (in 2011 and 2016), Menuhin Competition, Pablo Sarasate International Violin Competition, Montreal International Musical Competition and the remarkable XV Tchaikovsky Violin Competition Moscow in 2015. By far, Tsu is the only Chinese violinist who has frequently served at most of the highest level international competitions. As an educator, Tsu organized and attended Master Classes and seminars in the United States, Japan, Italy, Argentina, Taiwan, Hong Kong and throughout China. Her students won many prizes and gained great reputation in the international competitions. As a soloist, Tsu has also been performing on stages with both domestic and international orchestras including WDR Sinfonieorchester Koeln, the New York City Symphony, the Orchestra de Cannes, the Budapest Radio Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Tsu’s 20th anniversary of teaching concert was successfully held at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall on March 8th, 2021. Born in Shanghai, Tsu got in the Central Conservatory in Beijing in 1977. During the distinguished international violin master Isaac Stern’s the first visit to China in 1979, as a sophomore, Tsu performed for Mr. Stern and was featured in the overwhelming Oscar-winning documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. Vera Tsu Weiling went to the USA in 1980, where she continued her study with Dorothy DeLay and Rafael Bronstein, who was then the only living disciple of violin ancestor Leopold Auer. She graduated from the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music with Master Degrees. Tsu was the First Associated Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra from 1993 to 2000. Since Tsu was back in China in 2000, she has been active in the front line of performance and education.

Eszter Haffner

Austria/ JURY

The Austrian artist with Hungarian roots, Eszter Haffner is one of the most exciting and respected violinists of our time. Over the last 30 years, she has been captivating audiences around the world with her distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship and outstanding interpretations. She has established close relationships with the most prestigious conductors and orchestras. Always willing to expand her musical horizons, Eszter is also much sought after as a violist. Her social missions and her tireless commitment of the arts to the Republic of Austria was rewarded in summer 2021 with the federal award "Golden Decoration of Honor“ for artistic services to the Republic of Austria". Since 2000 she has been professor for violin at the Royal Academy of Music Copenhagen (Denmark), at the University of Art in Graz KUG and from 2023 she has been appointed at the MDW in Vienna Austria, as well as a visiting professor at the the Sibelius Academy Helsinki, the Franz Liszt Academy Budapest, at the Academy of Music Oslo, Shanghai Conservatory, Shanghai Middle School, JMC Jerusalem and Tijanjin Middle School. She was Jury member at many international violin competitions. Eszter plays the "ex Hamma Segelmann" Violin by Nicola Bergonzi 1780 on loan to her courtesy of the National Bank of Austria. Her strings are kindly sponsored by „Jargar Strings“ by Thomastik Infeld Vienna, her bows by Mr.Charles Shih and her CD recordings by NEIRO Productions,Vienna. She works as a consultant for the organization “Live Music Now” in Vienna founded by Lord Yehudi Menuhin; the Aurora and Old Ox Festivals Sweden; EMIV Vienna; CIMS Portugal and the “Virtuoso Belcanto” Festival in Lucca, Italy. As the organizer of the “Serguei Azizian” competition in Denmark and as a member of the jury faculties for major international competitions, she promotes young talents from all over the world. She is faculty member of the “PE-Förderkreis der Studierenden” Mannheim (Germany) and professor at the “Villa Musica” Mainz (Germany). Since 2017 she is curator of the Arts at the Austrian Embassy in Copenhagen. Eszter is member of the Ensembles Haffner Strings, Haffner Trio and the Aurora- Old Ox Ensemble Sweden.

Ana Chumachenco

Germany/ JURY

Ana Chumachenco born in Italy (Padua) of Russian/Ukranian origin and Argentinian and German nationality, Ana Chumachenco started playing violin at the age of four under the supervision of her father - a disciple of Leopold Auer - and later with Ljerko Spiller in Buenos Aires. After enjoying considerable success in her early years in South America, she returned to Europe at the age of 17 to continue her studies. Just one year later she was awarded the gold medal at the Carl Flesch competition in London and, a few years later, the silver medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Her musical mentors in those years included Joseph Szigeti, Sandor Vegh and Yehudi Menuhin. Besides her appearances in recitals and as a soloist with leading orchestras, Ana Chumachenco devotes much of her time to chamber music. For more than 20 years she has played in the Munich String Trio with violist Oscar Lysy and cellist Walter Notas. Ana Chumachenco spent many years as Violin Professor at the Munich University of Music; many of her students went on to outstanding international careers. From 2010-2020 she was Professor in Reina Sofia High School of Music in Madrid She is regularly invited to take part as a juror in major violin competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium and the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, J. Joachim Violin Competition in Hannover. Ana Chumachenco is a professor at Kronberg Academy Masters.

Koh Gabriel Kameda

Germany/ JURY

First prizewinner of the Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition, is recognized by international audiences; Lord Yehudi Menuhin stated he “was most impressed” with Mr. Kameda’s performance, Sir James Galway proclaimed “he is one of the most remarkable players of his generation”, Tel Aviv newspaper wrote “..there is one outstanding” and “genius violinist” after Pinchas Zukerman presenting Mr. Kameda with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. At the age of twelve Kameda enrolled in the University of Music in Karlsruhe, Germany, and studied with professor Josef Rissin. In 1993 violinist Pinchas Zukerman invited him to study with him at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1988 at the age of thirteen he made his debut with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then he continues to perform throughout Europe, Asia, as well as in North and South America. An outstanding moment in Mr. Kameda’s career was to collaborate in a series of concerts with Witold Lutoslawski in 1993. He performed the work “Chain II” under the baton of the composer himself. In April 2002 Koh Gabriel Kameda premiered the Violin Concerto by Louis Gruenberg in Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic under the direction Gerard Schwarz. This work was commissioned by Jasha Heifetz in 1945 and had not been played since. Gruenberg’s daughter, Joan Gruenberg Cominos, on Mr. Kameda’s performance, remarked, “I was delighted to discover your brilliant performance of my father's violin concerto. You have perfected this difficult work and play it beautifully.” Thе German press praised his virtuosity, with Scala magazine saying Mr. Kameda “sounds like Heifetz”, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung exclaiming that he is “miraculous”. In Japan, the music journal Ongaku no Tomo wrote that he has an “amazing sound”; in the United States, the Salt Lake City Deseret News was struck by his “unbelievable performance”. He is “one of the best in this orbit”, gushed El Dia of Mexico, in Brasil Zero Hora marveled that “his Stradivarius turned into a Magic Violin”, in Israel “..even among the brilliant and promising, there is one outstanding” and “genius violinist” the Yedhiot Ahronot newspaper wrote after his performance with Pinchas Zukerman and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. During the recent seasons, Mr. Kameda was scheduled for concerts in Japan, Korea, USA (Carnegie Hall, Germany, Switzerland (Tonhalle Zürich) and Latin America (Rio de Janeiro, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Costa and others). Mr. Kameda taught at the Zurich University of the Arts from 2004 until 2009. In 2010 he accepted the position as violin professor at the University of Music Detmold and from 2018 he started to work at the University of Münster, Germany. Many of his students are winners of International Violin Competitions such as the Szeryng, Brahms, Flesch, Kloster Schöntal, Lipizer, Postachini, Zhuhai Mozart and others. Koh Gabriel Kameda plays on the violin "Holroyd" made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona 1727.