We’re coming to you LIVE from Geneva, Switzerland, for the 2025 Concours de Genève Viola Competition. 8 candidates have been selected from the online recital round to advance as semi-finalists. The semi-finalists are:

  • Brian Isaacs (25 years old)
  • Eric Seohyun Moon (28 years old)
  • Sarah Strohm (20 years old)
  • Ayaka Taniguchi (23 years old)
  • Wassili Wohlgemuth (24 years old)
  • Kinga Wojdalska (26 years old)
  • Alessandra Yang (21 years old)
  • Emad Zolfaghari (21 years old)

The Solo Recital Semi-Final round will be held on November 6-7, and the Chamber Music Semi-Final on November 8-9. Three finalists will then perform concertos with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

First prize will be awarded CHF 20,000. Second prize is CHF 12,000, and third prize is awarded with CHF 8,000.

The competition will also present an Audience Prize of CHF 1,500, plus the Young Audience Prize and the Students Prize worth CHF 1,000 each. Among special gifts from Pirastro Strings, other awards include the Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize of CHF 10,000, the Arts Society Prize, Hindemith Prize, and more.

The official jury will include Tabea Zimmermann (chair), Tomoko Akasaka, Ettore Causa, Cynthia Phelps, Pauline Sachse, Jean Sulem, and German Tcakulov.

 

COMPETITION SCHEDULE:

Semi Final Round Session 1 | November 6, 2025 at 10:00 (ET), 16:00 (Local Time)

Brian Isaacs

  • Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) | Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45 (arr. T. Riebl)
  • Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) | 4 Caprices for Viola solo
  • Franz Schubert (1797–1828) | Fantasy in C major, D. 934

Kinga Wojdalska

  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Sonata for solo Viola, Op. 25 No. 4
  • Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585) | Hear the Voice and Prayer (arr. K. Wojdalska)
  • Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) | Passacaglia on an Old English Tune
  • Béla Bartók (1881–1945) | Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
  • Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) | Sonata for solo Viola No. 2
  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) | Violin Partita No. 2, BWV 1004
  • Johann Paul von Westhoff (1656–1705) | Violin Sonata No. 3
  • Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) | Polish Capriccio
  • Béla Bartók (1881–1945) | Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56 (additional dances)
  • Nicola Matteis (c.1650–1714) | Ayres for Violin
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Viola Sonata, Op. 25 No. 4

Semi Final Round Session 2 | November 6, 2025 at 13:00 (ET), 19:00 (Local Time)

Eric Seohyun Moon

  • Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) | Morpheus
  • Ondřej Štochl (b. 1975) | Il sogno fragile
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Sonata for solo Viola, Op. 11 No. 5
  • Franz Schubert (1797–1828) | “Arpeggione” Sonata, D. 821

Sarah Strohm

  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) | Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (transcr. in G minor)
  • Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) | Elégie for solo viola, K072
  • Georges Enescu (1881–1955) | Concert Piece for Viola and Piano
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Sonata for Viola and Piano

Semi Final Round Session 3 | November 7, 2025 at 10:00 (ET), 16:00 (Local Time)

Wassili Wohlgemuth

  • Alexandre Glazunov (1865–1936) | Elegy for Viola and Piano, Op. 44
  • Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) | Elegy for solo Viola, K072
  • Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) | Viola Sonata in C Major, Op. 147

Ayaka Taniguchi

  • Georges Enescu (1881–1955) | Concert Piece for Viola and Piano
  • Věra Gaigerová (1903–1952) | Suite for Viola and Piano, Op. 8
  • Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881) | Capriccio in C minor for solo Viola, Op. posth.
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Sonata for Viola and Piano (1939)

Semi Final Round Session 4 | November 7, 2025 at 13:00 (ET), 19:00 (Local Time)

Alessandra Yang

  • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) | Sonata in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1
  • Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) | Lachrymae, Op. 48a
  • György Kurtág (b. 1926) | Signs, Games, and Messages
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Viola Sonata, Op. 11 No. 4

Emad Zolfaghari

  • Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) | In Folk Tone, Op. 73, No. 1
  • Garth Knox (b. 1956) | Viola Spaces
  • Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881) | Viola Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 36
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | Sonata for solo Viola, Op. 25 No. 1
  • Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992) | Le Grand Tango

Semi Final: Chamber Music Session 1 | November 8 at 10:00 (ET), 16:00 (Local Time)

Brian Isaacs

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Kinga Wojdalska

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
    • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Semi Final: Chamber Music Session 2 | November 8 13:00 (ET), 19:00 (Local Time)

Eric Seohyun Moon

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Sarah Strohm

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
    • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Semi Final: Chamber Music Session 3 | November 9 at 10:00 (ET), 16:00 (Local Time)

Wassili Wohlgemuth

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Ayaka Taniguchi

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Semi Final: Chamber Music Session 4 | November 9 at 13:00 (ET), 19:00 (Local Time)

Alessandra Yang

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Emad Zolfaghari

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | Divertimento, KV 563
    • Luciano Berio (1925–2003) | Naturale, for viola, percussion, and electronics

Final Round | November 12 at 12:45 PM (ET)