Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition

Last updated January 30, 2025

The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition is an international music competition for viola players established in 1980 to honor the memory of the English viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis. Up to 2019 this triennial event was held at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin, Isle of Man. The competition did not take place during the years of the Coronavirus pandemic and resumed in January 2025 at The Glasshouse, Gateshead. The competition has now been paired with the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition (CAIVC). The two competitions will run concurrently. Participants in the Tertis competition are of any nationality and must be aged between 19 - 30 at the time of the competition.^[1]

Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition

No.	Year	1st Prize	2nd Prize	3rd Prize	Jurists / Notes
14	2025	Sam Rosenthal	Nicolas Garrigues	Ami-Louise Johnsson	George Caird (Chairperson), Françoise Gneri, Robin Ireland, Lilli Maijala, Thomas Selditz
13	2019	Paul Vincent Laraia III	Yuchen Lu	Paul Adrien Zientara	George Caird (Chairman), William Coleman, Carol Rodland, Danusha Waskiewicz, Mikhail Zemtsov
12	2016	Timothy Ridout	Manuel Vioque-Judde	Wenhong Luo	George Caird (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Wing Ho, Garth Knox, Thomas Riebl
11	2013	Ziyu Shen	Kei Tojo	Matthew Lipman (tie) Shuangshuang Liu (tie)	Brian Hawkins (Chairman), Betil Başeğmezler, Yuri Bashmet, Sarah-Jane Bradley, Samuel Rhodes, Jean Sulem, Hong-Mei Xiao
10	2010	Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt	Kyoungmin Park	Veit Hertenstein	Christopher Yates (Chairman), Garfield Jackson, Tatjana Masurenko, Hartmut Rohde, Simon Rowland-Jones, Pierre-Henri Xuereb, Su Zhen
9	2006	David Kim	Peijun Xu	/ Ewa Grzywna	John Wallace (Chairman), Vladimír Bukač, Michael Kugel, Kenta Matsumi, Hariolf Schlichtig, Roger Tapping
8	2003	Yuval Gotlibovich	Maxim Rysanov	Maya Rasooly	John Wallace (Chairman), Atar Arad, Yuri Bashmet, Luigi Alberto Bianchi, Martin Outram, Lars Anders Tomter
7	2000	— not awarded —	Agathe Blondel (tie) Andrei Oussov (tie)	Arie Schachter	Howard Snell (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Sally Beamish, Masao Kawasaki, Hartmut Lindemann, Bruno Pasquier, Christopher Wellington 4th Prize: Rebecca Jones
6	1997	Roland Glassl	Steve Larson	Mikhail Bereznitsky	Philip Jones (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Thérèse-Marie Gilissen, Lubomír Malý, Yizhak Schotten, Paul Silverthorne
5	1994	Gilad Karni	Kenta Matsumi	Scott Lee	Philip Jones (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Kazuhide Isomura, Michael Kugel, Paul Neubauer, John White
4	1991	— not awarded —	Tomoko Ariu (tie) Andra Darzins (tie)	Esther Geldard	Sir David Lumsden (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Harry Danks, Jerzy Kosmala, Milan Škampa
3	1988	Hsin-Yun Huang	Jane Atkins	Jean-Eric Soucy	Sir David Lumsden (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Harry Danks, Paul Hindmarsch, Thomas Riebl, Emanuel Vardi
2	1984	Cynthia Phelps	Paul Coletti	/ Carla-Maria Rodrigues	Lady Evelyn Barbirolli (Chairman), Paul Cropper, Hirofumi Fukai, Alfred Lipka, Donald McInnes, Simon Streatfeild
1	1980	Paul Neubauer	/ Kim Kashkashian	— not awarded —	Gerald McDonald (Chairman), Harry Danks, Paul Doktor, Csaba Erdélyi, Piero Farulli, Milan Škampa

Required composition

A compulsory work to be performed by all competitors is commissioned (or selected) for each competition.

2025 – The Bridges of Newcastle (The broon toon tune) for viola solo (2024) by Garth Knox; published by Schott^[4]
2019 – Canto for viola solo (2018) by Roxanna Panufnik
2016 – fenodyree for viola solo (2015) by Stuart MacRae
2013 – 6 Sorano Variants for viola solo (2012) by Peter Maxwell Davies; published by Boosey & Hawkes ^[5]
2010 – Petite Sonatine 1 for viola solo (2009) by Roger Steptoe; published by Editions BIM ^[6]
2006 – Darkness Draws In for viola solo, Op. 102 (2005) by David Matthews; published by Faber Music Ltd.
2003 – Through a Limbeck for viola solo (2002) by John Woolrich; published by Faber Music Ltd.
2000 – Pennillion for viola solo (1998) by Sally Beamish; available through the Scottish Music Centre; This work was selected, not commissioned.
1997 – Rondel for viola solo (1996) by Richard Rodney Bennett; published by Novello & Co.
1994 – Odd Man Out for viola solo (1994) by Michael Berkeley; published by Oxford University Press
1991 – February Sonatina for viola solo (1990) by John McCabe; published by Novello & Co.
1988 – Tides of Mananan for viola solo, Op. 64 (1988) by Paul Patterson; published by Josef Weinberger
1984 – Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 131 (1983) by Wilfred Josephs; published by Mornington Music Ltd. / Novello & Co.
1980 – Concerto No. 2 in G major for viola and orchestra (1979) by Gordon Jacob; published by Boosey & Hawkes

Related Research Articles

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Lionel Tertis, CBE was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher.

A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Throughout music history, especially during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, viola was viewed mostly as an ensemble instrument. Though there were a few notable concertos written for the instrument in this time period, these instances were quite rare and the instrument continued to be ignored. However, during the 20th century, the instrument was revitalized thanks to the work of a number of violists and composers, which led to the commission and composition of many more viola concertos, expanding the repertoire significantly.

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Harry Danks, (1912-2001) was a British violist and principal viola of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1946 to 1978. He was the founder and director of the London Consort of Viols.

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References

Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition
White, John (2006). Lionel Tertis The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola, 362–365.

↑ "The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition 2025". Tertis and Aronowitz International Viola Competitions. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
↑ "Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Welcome". tertisaronowitzviolacompetitions.org.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
↑ "The Erin Arts Centre :: Tertis Viola Competition". www.erinartscentre.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
↑ https://www.schott-music.com/en/the-bridges-of-newcastle-no589478.html
↑ 2013 work from Boosey & Hawkes
↑ Roger Steptoe website

External links

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[1] "The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition 2025". Tertis and Aronowitz International Viola Competitions. Retrieved 29 January 2025.

[2] "Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Welcome". tertisaronowitzviolacompetitions.org.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2025.

[3] "The Erin Arts Centre :: Tertis Viola Competition". www.erinartscentre.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.

[4] ttps://www.schott-music.com/en/the-bridges-of-newcastle-no589478.html

[5] 2013 work from Boosey & Hawkes

[6] Roger Steptoe website

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Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition

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