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]
The 14th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition was held from 19 to 25 January 2025. [2]
The 13th Lionel Tertis International Festival was held from 6 to 13 April 2019, and attracted 107 entries from around the world. [3]
No. | Year | 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize | Jurists / Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 2025 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | George Caird (Chairperson), Françoise Gneri, Robin Ireland, Lilli Maijala, Thomas Selditz |
13 | 2019 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | George Caird (Chairman), William Coleman, Carol Rodland, Danusha Waskiewicz, Mikhail Zemtsov |
12 | 2016 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | George Caird (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Wing Ho, Garth Knox, Thomas Riebl |
11 | 2013 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Brian Hawkins (Chairman), Betil Başeğmezler, Yuri Bashmet, Sarah-Jane Bradley, Samuel Rhodes, Jean Sulem, Hong-Mei Xiao |
10 | 2010 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Christopher Yates (Chairman), Garfield Jackson, Tatjana Masurenko, Hartmut Rohde, Simon Rowland-Jones, Pierre-Henri Xuereb, Su Zhen |
9 | 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | John Wallace (Chairman), Vladimír Bukač, Michael Kugel, Kenta Matsumi, Hariolf Schlichtig, Roger Tapping |
8 | 2003 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | John Wallace (Chairman), Atar Arad, Yuri Bashmet, Luigi Alberto Bianchi, Martin Outram, Lars Anders Tomter |
7 | 2000 | — not awarded — | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | Howard Snell (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Sally Beamish, Masao Kawasaki, Hartmut Lindemann, Bruno Pasquier, Christopher Wellington 4th Prize: ![]() |
6 | 1997 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Philip Jones (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Thérèse-Marie Gilissen, Lubomír Malý, Yizhak Schotten, Paul Silverthorne |
5 | 1994 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Philip Jones (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Kazuhide Isomura, Michael Kugel, Paul Neubauer, John White |
4 | 1991 | — not awarded — | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | Sir David Lumsden (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Harry Danks, Jerzy Kosmala, Milan Škampa |
3 | 1988 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Sir David Lumsden (Chairman), Yuri Bashmet, Harry Danks, Paul Hindmarsch, Thomas Riebl, Emanuel Vardi |
2 | 1984 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Lady Evelyn Barbirolli (Chairman), Paul Cropper, Hirofumi Fukai, Alfred Lipka, Donald McInnes, Simon Streatfeild |
1 | 1980 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | — not awarded — | Gerald McDonald (Chairman), Harry Danks, Paul Doktor, Csaba Erdélyi, Piero Farulli, Milan Škampa |
A compulsory work to be performed by all competitors is commissioned (or selected) for each competition.
The viola ( vee-OH-lə, Italian:[ˈvjɔːla,viˈɔːla]) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth higher) and the cello (which is tuned an octave lower). The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4.
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.
Paul Neubauer is an American violist. Neubauer was a student of Paul Doktor, Alan de Veritch and William Primrose. In August 1980, aged 17, he won the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Workshop on the Isle of Man, which had commissioned Gordon Jacob's Viola Concerto No 2 as a test piece. He gave the first public performance in 1981 as part of his prize. Neubauer attended the Juilliard School, where he received his B.M. in 1982, and his M.M. in 1983. In 1984, at age 21, Neubauer became the principal violist with the New York Philharmonic the youngest principal string player in the Philharmonic's history, a position he held for six years. He became an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1989.
The Primrose International Viola Competition (PIVC), also referred to as the Primrose Memorial Scholarship Competition (PMSC), is an international music competition for viola players sponsored by the American Viola Society and named for the 20th-century virtuoso William Primrose.
Barry Ernest Conyngham is an Australian composer and academic. He has over 70 published works and over 30 recordings featuring his compositions, and his works have been premiered or performed in Australia, Japan, North and South America, the United Kingdom and Europe. His output is largely for orchestra, ensemble or dramatic forces. He is an Emeritus Professor of both the University of Wollongong and Southern Cross University. He is former Dean of the Faculty of the Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne.
The Suite is a composition for solo cello by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The piece is well known for its typical chromatic melodies and for its recurrent use of pizzicati and col legno.
Bernard Shore was an English viola player and author.
Tatjana Masurenko is a German violist of Russian descent.
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.
Timothy Ridout is a British violist and 1st Prizewinner of the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.