The winner of the 2024 edition was Anna Im. She is a laureate of several major competitions, including the Michael Hill International Violin Competition 2019, the ArsClassica International Competition 2024, and the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition 2024.

​A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, Im has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Aaron Rosand, and So-Ock Kim.

She has appeared as a soloist with the Stuttgart Philharmoniker, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Baden-Baden Philharmonic, and Salzburger Solisten, and has been invited to festivals such as the Kronberg Academy Festival, Ravinia Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, and Aspen Music Festival, among others.

In 2024, The Violin Channel sat down with Anna Im to discuss how she prepares for a major competition and how it felt to win the Stuttgart competition.

She also discussed the challenge of remaining expressive while meeting the technical demands of the competition environment.

"It's easy to view the rounds as just another part of the competition, but it's crucial to see them as opportunities to express your music and believe in yourself, even under high pressure," she said.

"Doubts are natural; dedicated musicians rarely feel entirely ready. We need to do our best and let go of unnecessary worries. Letting go and not adding extra pressure on yourself is really helpful."

You can hear her performing Ysaÿe's Caprice d’après l’Étude en forme de Valse, Op. 52 No. 6 de Saint-Saëns at the 2024 Stuttgart Competition below.

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Performing Liszt’s Les Préludes for 4 hands, Dutch pianist Martyn van den Hoek, who won the competition’s inaugural first prize in 1986, joins pianist Jean Dubé, who won in 2002.

The video of van den Hoek’s and Dubé’s duo performance was recently released in honor of van den Hoek, who passed away in 2022. The concert filmed in the Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn concert hall can be viewed below. 

The 2026 edition of the Franz Liszt Utrecht recently streamed live here on The Violin Channel. First prize with €25,000 went to Alexander Kashpurin, who was also awarded the €2,000 Audience Award. 

Martyn van den Hoek began his musical studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory before settling in Austria. Among his teachers was Josef Raieff, who was a late student of Alexander Siloti, one of Liszt’s favourite students in Weimar, Germany.

After winning the Liszt Competition Utrecht, van den Hoek continued to give concerts internationally, and from 1986 to 1991, served as a cultural Ambassador for the Port of Rotterdam. From 1998, he also served on the faculty of the Vienna Civic Conservatory. 

Jean Dubé, who won First Prize of the National Conservatory of Paris at the age of 14 under Jacques Rouvier, also studied with Jacqueline Robin, Catherine Collard, Vladimir Krainev, Rudolf Buchbinder, Murray Perahia, and John O'Conor. 

Since his win in Utrecht in 2002, he has recorded 50 CDs, with labels including Syrius, BNL, and Naxos, plus featured in several DVDs of concertos for French television and other international broadcasters. He has also been invited as a jury member for many competitions, including at the Franz Liszt Utrecht 2019.

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Held every three years, the competition offers not only a monetary prize but also networking, management, public relations, community engagement, and concert opportunities.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with Itzhak Perlman and Sylvia Rosenberg, Huang is the Gold Medalist of the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis — where she was also awarded eight of the eleven special prizes.

In 2017, she was the winner of the New York Concert Artist Worldwide Debut Audition. She was also the First Prize Gold Medalist at the 6th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, as well as a top prize winner at Singapore International Violin Competition and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition.

The 2026 edition of the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, held at Lynn University, is being streamed live here on The Violin Channel. The competition takes place from January 4–18, 2026, and the first round will take place at the Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall. 

You can hear Huang's finals performance of Mozart and Tchaikovsky below.

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Since winning the competition, Yoon has distinguished herself as a laureate of the Indianapolis, Queen Elisabeth, and Tchaikovsky competitions. She was also the winner of the Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition and the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, and most recently, she received First Prize at the Tokyo Classic Violin Competition 2024.

She has made solo appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Applications are currently open for the 2026 Wieniawski Competition. The 17th edition will take place in Poznań, Poland, from October 8–25, 2026. The jury will be chaired by Bartłomiej Nizioł and comprise 11 members.

First prize will include a cash prize of €60,000, while second prize is worth €30,000 and third prize is worth €15,000. All laureates of the competition will receive €5,000, and the special prizes to be awarded will be announced prior to the opening of the event.

For more details and to apply, click here. The deadline for submitting applications and recordings is 9 January 2026 at 23:59 CET. 

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Born in California in 1918, Ricci made his public debut when he was just ten years old, and an appearance at Carnegie Hall soon followed. At fourteen, he undertook an extensive tour of Europe and continued with his solo engagements until the arrival of the Second World War, which saw him enlist in the Air Force.

During the war, Ricci performed a great deal of unaccompanied repertoire, since pianists were not readily available. He explored repertoire by Bach, Wieniawski, Kreisler, Ernst, and Bartók, but above all, the caprices of Paganini, and in 1947, he made the first recording of these pieces in their original versions.

These were part of a collection of more than 500 recordings that Ricci made over the course of his career, which were released on every major label. In his seven decades on the stage, Ricci also performed more than 6,000 live concerts in 65 different countries.

He studied initially with Louis Persinger, and his later teachers included Michel Piastro, Paul Stassevitch, and Georg Kulenkampf.

Alongside his performing career, Ricci was a prolific pedagogue, teaching at Indiana University, the Juilliard School, the University of Michigan, and the Mozarteum Salzburg. His pedagogical book Left Hand Violin Technique is published by G. Schirmer.

You can view the recording, which is of Paganini's 24th Caprice, in full below.

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Footage for the film was taken directly at the competition held from February 19–26, 2024, at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart (HMDK) for the first two rounds and at the Liederhalle Stuttgart for the finals.

Blending live performances with behind-the-scenes moments, "2nd Stuttgart International Violin Competition – The Film!" showcases young violinists collaborating with quartets and orchestras before an international jury.

"Music thrives in the moment – yet it is our deepest desire to capture some of these precious instances: the first notes resonating on stage, the spark in the eyes of young musicians, the convergence of talent, discipline, and inner passion," Markus Klein, President of the Guadagnini Foundation told The Violin Channel.

"It is not merely about virtuosity but about the essence of music: connection, expression, and humanity. A film can illuminate what often transpires in the quiet space between two notes – the dedication, the doubts, the beauty of growth," Klein added.

With a prize pool totalling €63,000, the competition’s 2024 first prize went to Anna Im, who was also awarded a loan of a G.B. Guadagnini violin.

The documentary was directed by Harald Rauser, founder and owner of the film agency Isle of Light LLC. The film team was led by Sergei Amirdzhanov, who was recently honoured with the German Camera Award for outstanding cinematography.

"This film is our tribute to all who sustain this competition – the artists, the jury, the audience – and our contribution to carrying forward the stories and spirit of music," Klein concluded.

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In advance of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC), enjoy this prize-winning performance by VC Artist Viano String Quartet. In 2019, the Viano String Quartet won the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize alongside the Marmen Quartet.

Established in 1983 as part of Banff Centre’s 50th anniversary, BISQC is held once every three years. Directed by Barry Shiffman, this year's competition offers over $500,000 CAD in cash, prizes, and career development opportunities which include touring, a recording residency, the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize of a paid residency worth $110,000 CAD, an Esterházy Foundation Residency with concerts at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival, and an opportunity for a two-week Chamber Music in Residency at the prestigious Britten Pears Arts in England.

Ten competing quartets will travel to Banff from August 25 - 31, 2025, for the 15th edition of the competition. Learn more here.

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Join us here on The Violin Channel as we stream the competition live worldwide.

Previous winners include Frank Huang, Mark Kosower, Teng Li, Jennifer Frautschi, and Nikki Chooi.

Enjoy 2014 winner Zladomir Fung’s grand prize performance of Schnittke Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 with pianist Miles Graber:

VC Artist Zlatomir Fung won first prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, becoming the youngest cellist ever to win the competition. He has served as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2023–2024 season, appearing at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK with the orchestra. Other notable appearances of late include his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic. Fung joined the cello faculty at The Juilliard School in 2024.

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The gold medalist will receive $100,000, the silver medalist $50,000, and the bronze medalist $25,000. Beyond cash prizes, winning a Cliburn medal includes comprehensive career management, artistic support, and bolstered publicity efforts for the three following years.

Previous winners include Yunchan Lim, Haochen Zhang, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Olga Kern, Vadym Kholodenko, Yekwon Sunwoo, and Beatrice Rana.

Enjoy 2022 winner Yunchan Lim's prize-winning performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop:

The post The Cliburn Gold Medalist Yunchan Lim's Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

The winner will also have the opportunity to play Paganini's 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin “Cannone” in a gala concert on October 26, 2025. Applications close on February 11, 2025. Learn more here. 

Watch Simon Zhu's grand prize-winning performance from the 2023 edition of the competition below!

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Founded in 2021 and currently on its second edition, the International Mieczysław Wajnberg Violin Competition in Katowice, Poland, was named for Polish composer Mieczysław Wajnberg, whose contemporaries included Lutosławski, Prokofiev, Bartók, and Shostakovich.

Open to violinists of any nationality born between 1993 and 2005 (inclusive), the competition will award a €10,000 first prize, €5,000 for second place, and €3,000 for the third prize winner. The competition will run from December 1–8, 2024 and participants for the 2024 will be announced publicly on the competition’s website by June 30, 2024.

In the 2021 edition, 29-year-old Dmitry Serebrennikov from Russia was awarded first prize. Watch his performance here:

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Two longstanding British viola competitions, the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (LTIVC) and the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition (CAIVC), will join forces to run concurrently in 2025. Both competitions will be hosted at the Gateshead venue The Glasshouse and will play host to some of the best young violists around the world between January 19 and 25, 2025.

Open to players aged 18 and under, the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition has extended its deadline until Monday, July 1, 2024. Violists can apply for the CAIVC competition, here.

The 1st Prize winner will receive £5,000, a shared concert at the Wigmore Hall, Shallock Bow, and a possible debut CD recording with Champs Hill. 2nd Prize will receive £3,000, while 3rd Prize is endowed with £2,000. £1,000 will be awarded for the best performance of the commissioned piece by composer Kathy Tagg.

In the 2021 edition, 22-year-old Edgar Francis from Wales won first prize. Watch his performance below!

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The semi-finals for this year's edition of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam (ICCR) are fast approaching, and will take place from June 17 to June 19, 2024.

24 young conductors have been selected to take part, and from these the jury will select six "designated winners" — who will participate in a year-long career development program comprising two academy weeks, workshops, coaching, and PR support.

These six conductors will then take part in the full ICCR finals in June 2025, and as part of this they will conduct five different orchestras.

Open to international conductors aged between 22 and 30, the 2021/2022 Grand Prize of €15,000 was awarded to the UK conductor Bertie Baigent.

The six 2021/22 designate winners were Carlos Ágreda (Colombia), Bertie Baigent (UK), Martijn Dendievel (Belgium), Chloe Rooke (UK), Joel Sandelson (UK), and Luis Toro Araya (Chile).

They were each given the opportunity to conduct the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Symphony Chorus, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Doelen Ensemble, and the Orchestra of the 18th Century.

In anticipation of the 2024/25 competition, enjoy this footage of the 2021 final round, which was streamed live on The Violin Channel.

Alongside his Grand Prize win, Baigent also received the €7,500 Classical Music Award and the €7,500 Great Symphonic Works prize. After his successes at ICCR, Baigent was announced in 2022 as the new assistant of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, working closely with Lahav Shani. ​Baigent currently serves as music director of the Waterperry Opera Festival.

For ICCR’s 2024/25 edition, the first-round jury comprised Sian Edwards, Ara Guzelimian, Ulrike Niehoff, Ed Spanjaard, Elmar Weingarten, and George Wiegel, who viewed the performances of all 175 candidates from 54 countries. The 24 semi-finalists to perform with the Sinfonia Rotterdam this month, can be viewed here.

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Open to players aged 18 and under, the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition has extended its deadline until Monday, July 1, 2024. Violists can apply for the CAIVC competition, here.

In anticipation of the 2025 competition, enjoy this exclusive footage of the 2021 final round, which was won by British violist Edgar Francis.

In 2025, the 1st Prize winner will receive £5,000, a shared concert at the Wigmore Hall, Shallock Bow, and a possible debut CD recording with Champs Hill. 2nd Prize will receive £3,000, while 3rd Prize is endowed with £2,000. £1,000 will be awarded for the best performance of the commissioned piece by composer Kathy Tagg.

Players in the later stages of the competition will be accompanied by the Northern Sinfonia. Additionally, Nobuko Imai and former winner Timothy Ridout of both Aronowitz and Tertis competitions will be in residence during the week giving recitals and master classes.

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Canada's Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is currently underway until May 16 in Montreal, Quebec. 388 pianists from a total of 38 different countries applied to take part, and just 24 young players were selected for the first round, which you can watch here. Just recently the 10 semifinalists were announced, who will compete to become one of six finalists on May 10. Tune in to The Violin Channel to watch!

In 2021, Su Yeon Kim won the prizes and scholarships valued at over $ 180,000; an unprecedented total sum for the CMIM. Then 27, she performed Beethoven, Scriabin, Burge, and Ravel in the Final Round. Watch her performance below!

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