The director of the contest, Karolina Kaźmierczak, has told a press conference in Poznań that the event, originally scheduled for 2021 and postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has generated enormous interest.
The final pool of entrants has been chosen by an international selection panel from over 220 applicants, representing 30 countries.
The contestants come from the United States, South Korea, Germany, Poland, China, Japan, Austria, The Netherlands, France, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and Singapore. The youngest is 16, the oldest – 29.
Their performances will be judged by an international jury, chaired by French violinist and conductor Augustin Dumay. Prizewinners’ names will be announced on October 21. The winner of the First Prize is to collect EUR 50,000.
The oldest violin contest in the world
Organised for the first time in Warsaw in 1935, the Wieniawski Competition is the world’s oldest violin contest. After a lapse of 17 years, it moved to Poznań and has been staged in that city since 1952. This year it is being held for the 16th time.
Past prizewinners of the Wieniawski Competition include Ginette Neveu, David Oistrakh, Ida Haendel, Grażyna Bacewicz, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Piotr Pławner and Agata Szymczewska.
Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) was regarded as one of the greatest 19th-century violinists after Niccolò Paganini. His compositional output includes two violin concertos, mazurkas, polonaises, etudes and caprices.
(mk/pm)