Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists

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Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists
Formation1983 (1983)
Founder Yehudi Menuhin
Purpose Classical music competition
Board President
Etienne d’Arenberg
Vice President
Joji Hattori
Patron
Zamira Menuhin-Benthall
Website menuhincompetition.org

The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists (or simply the Menuhin Competition) is an international music competition for violinists under the age of 16. It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin in 1983 with the goal of nurturing young violinists. In its early years, the competition took place in Folkestone on the south coast of England. Since 1998, it has been held biennially in different cities around the world. Several of the competition's past laureates, including Julia Fischer, Tasmin Little, and Nikolaj Znaider, have gone on to major international careers. [1]

Contents

Competition

A member of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY), [2] the Menuhin Competition runs every two years in Geneva, Switzerland. Recent competitions have been live-streamed on the Internet.

Ziyu He, Senior First Prize winner in 2016. Eym2014 Generalprobe Ziyu He 1.jpg
Ziyu He, Senior First Prize winner in 2016.

The competition is open to violinists of any nationality under the age of 22. The competitors are pre-selected by video recording and compete in three rounds during the actual competition. There is a required repertoire, which is chosen by the competition's organizers. However, the competitors also play a virtuoso violin work of their own choice as part of the semi-finals. In the first round, each competitor is also given a four to eight bar phrase on which to improvise for three minutes. [2] [3]

In later years the required repertoire and the gala concerts have included new works especially commissioned for the competition or works closely associated with the host country. At the 2010 Oslo competition, the previously required works by Paganini were replaced with works by the Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull to mark the bicentenary of his birth. [4] The 2008 competition in Cardiff saw the world premiere of Welsh composer Mervyn Burtch's Elegy for King Arthur. [5] The 2014 Austin, Texas competition included two world premieres of Texas-themed works: Donald Grantham's Black-eyed Suzy and Dan Welcher's The Cowboy and the Rattlesnake. [6] The three commissioned works premiered at the 2016 London competition were John Rutter's Visions, Roxanna Panufnik's Hora Bessarabia and Òscar Colomina Bosch's Shpigl. [7] [8]

In the Senior category cash prizes are awarded to the top four places, while in the Junior category (under 16 years old) cash prizes are awarded to the top five places. There are also a number of individual cash prizes. These include the Bach Prize for the best performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's violin works, donated in memory of Robert Masters, the founding director of the Yehudi Menuhin School. The First Prize winner in the Senior category also receives a one-year loan of a "golden age" Stradivarius violin. The First Prize winner of the Junior category receives a one-year loan of a "fine old Italian violin". [2]

The 2016 competition had 44 competitors—37 girls and seven boys. [1] The top four prizes in the Senior category were won by young violinists from China, South Korea, and Taiwan. The top prize-winners in the Junior category were from the United States, South Korea, Sweden, and Germany.

History

Yehudi Menuhin, the competition's founder and namesake. Yehudi Menuhin 43.jpg
Yehudi Menuhin, the competition's founder and namesake.

The competition was founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Robert Masters, who had been instrumental in the founding of the Yehudi Menuhin School. The competition took place for the first time in 1983 at Folkestone on the south coast of England and was based there for its first 15 years with Menuhin himself conducting master classes for the competitors. Following a three-year gap after the 1995 competition, it resumed in 1998 at Boulogne-sur-Mer on the French side of the English Channel and returned to Folkestone in 2000. [9] At the inauguration of the first competition, Yehudi Menuhin said: [10]

Our young gifted violinists will be the ambassadors of goodwill, for they come with pure hearts and music in their souls. It is in those younger people that we invest our future.

After Menuhin's death, the pianist Gordon Back, who had been the competition's accompanist since its founding, took over the Artistic Directorship of the competition, expanding the program into a festival format with the competition taking place amidst concerts, master classes, and education and outreach events. The competition also began moving its venue to a different international city each time. [11] [12] From 2002 to 2014, the competition was held in:

In 2016, the 100th anniversary of Menuhin's birth, the competition returned to London, where once again it was based at the Royal Academy of Music, with its gala concerts held at the Royal Festival Hall. [7] [15] The 2018 competition was held in Geneva, Switzerland. [16] The 2021 competition was held in Richmond, Virginia. [17] [18]

Organization

The Menuhin Competition is operated by the ‘Fondation Concours Menuhin’, a foundation registered in Switzerland. [19] Its president is H.S.H. Prince Etienne d’Arenberg. The foundation also has close ties to the Menuhin family. Yehudi Menuhin's daughter Zamira Menuhin-Benthall is its Life Patron and his grandson Aaron Menuhin serves as one of the trustees. [20]

Past jury members have included American violinist Pamela Frank, Maxim Vengerov, Dong-Suk Kang, Arabella Steinbacher, Ray Chen, Jeremy Menuhin, Julia Fischer, and Tasmin Little. [11] [21] [22]

Notable laureates

Julia Fischer, Junior First Prize winner in 1995 and member of the 2016 competition jury. Geigerin 09.jpg
Julia Fischer, Junior First Prize winner in 1995 and member of the 2016 competition jury.

Past laureates who have gone on to international careers include: [23]

As both Erica Jeal (the Guardian's music critic) and Gordon Back (the competition's artistic director) pointed out, winning the First Prize is no guarantee of a major career, and sometimes those who have become internationally renowned were not First Prize winners. [12] [15]

Previous prize winners

Prizes are awarded in two categories: Senior for violinists aged 16 to 21, and Junior for violinists under the age of 16. Violinists aged 15 are permitted to enter the Senior category if they wish. The Senior category awards cash prizes to the top four places, while the Junior category awards cash prizes to the top five places. (Prior to 2002, the competition also awarded 6th, and on occasion 7th, prizes in the Junior category.) As of 2016, the 1st prize in the Senior category was £10,000 and the 1st prize in the Junior category was £5,000. [2] There are also a number of special prizes and awards. In 2018, for the first time in the competition's history, there was a joint 1st prize in the Junior category. [24] [25]

Senior category

Year1st Prize2nd Prize3rd Prize4th Prize
2021 María Dueñas Simon ZhuHana ChangKarisa Chiu
2018 Diana Adamyan Nathan MierdlHyunjae LimTianyou Ma
2016 Ziyu He SongHa ChoiYu-Ting ChenJeein Kim
2014 Stephen Waarts In Mo Yang Christine Seohyun LimStephen Kim
2012 Kenneth Renshaw Ji Eun Anna LeeAlexi KenneySiyan Guo
2010Xiang YuNigel ArmstrongSuyeon KangJi Won Song
2008 Ray Chen Jiafeng Chen Evgeny Sviridov Stella Chen
2006Hrachya AvanesyanRobin ScottShuai ShiSulki Yu
2004Hye-Jin KimDaniel KhalikovJe Hye LeeYusuke Hayashi
2002 Soyoung Yoon Rintarō ŌmiyaSimone LamsmaMaksim Brylinski
2000Akiko Ono Feng Ning Viatcheslav ChestiglazovChen Gu
1998Susie ParkAkiko OnoBoris BrovtsynXu Yang
1995Lisa Kim Corina Belcea Yoo-Kyung MinZhanna Tonaganyan
1993Gabriela DemeterováAlina Komissarova Stefan Milenkovich Marta Abraham
1991--Qing GuoEvgeny AndrusenkoBirgit Kolar
1989 Joji Hattori Yuan-Qing Yu Bartlomiej Niziol Karen Lee
1987Elisabeth GlassElisa BarstonZheng Qing Joji Hattori
1985Xiao-Dong Wang Tasmin Little Liang ChaiAbigail Young
1983Leland Chen Isabelle van Keulen Tasmin Little He Hong Ying
Other prizes
Timothy Chooi, winner of the 2014 EMCY Prize and the 2010 Violin Prize. Timothy Chooi New Zealand.jpg
Timothy Chooi, winner of the 2014 EMCY Prize and the 2010 Violin Prize.

Junior category

Year1st Prize2nd Prize3rd Prize4th Prize5th Prize6th Prize7th Prize
2021Keila WakaoEdward WaltonHannah Wan Ching TamKento HongBoha Moon----
2018 Chloe Chua
Christian Li
--Ruibing LiuClara ShenHina Khuong-Huu Guido Sant'Anna --
2016Yesong Sophie LeeKevin MiuraJohan DaleneNaKyung KangAnne Luisa Kramb----
2014Rennosuke Fukuda Daniel Lozakovitj Ludvig GudimAlex ZhouJaewon Wee----
2012 Kevin Zhu Soo-Been LeeTaiga TojoGrace CliffordYehun Jin----
2010 Kerson Leong Stephen Waarts Ji Eun Anna LeeTaiga TojoCallum Smart----
2008Chad HoopesDmitry SmirnovMindy ChenKe ZhuSeohyun Lim----
2006Sunao GokoFumiaki Miura Yu-Chien Tseng Robyn Bollinger Stella Chen Sirena Huang --
2004Joel C. LinkDanbi Um Ray Chen
Yoo Jin Jang
--Esther Kim----
2002Chiharu TakiYyun-Su Shin Marcus Tanneberger Jennifer Pike Saki ShirokojiAlexandra Korobkina--
2000Mi Sa Yang Alina Ibragimova Naoto Sakiya Yossif Ivanov  [ fr ]Hye Jin KimJa Ram Kim--
1998Zhi-Jiong WangOleg Yatsina Mikhail Simonyan Mayuko Kamio Sophie Moser  [ de ]Yoon Jung Cho--
1995 Julia Fischer Jeanne de RicaudPiotr KwaśnyTeruyoshi Shirata Daniel Khalikov  [ de ] Ilya Gringolts Sally Cooper
1993 Daishin Kashimoto Igor Malinovsky Wei Wei LeYi Jia HouNatasha Lomeiko Akiko Ono  [ jp ]--
1991Ning KamWen-Lei Gu Jennifer Koh Yonatan GandelsmanNatsuko YoshimotoMona Marie Knock Janine Jansen
1989Livia SohnSylvie SentenacMu NaJennifer KohYe ShaKrzysztof Baranowski--
1987Dong Kun Bartłomiej Nizioł Suzy WhangRyōtarō Itō David Chan Carla Kihlstedt --
1985Chang GuoElizabeth Glass Scott St. John Lara St. John David Le PageChwan-Liang Lee--
1983Xiao-Dong WangZheng-Rong WangLe ZhangJulian Shevlin Lü Siqing Eunice Lee--
Other prizes

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Miller, Joe (15 April 2016). "Highly strung: What does it take to win the Menuhin Competition?". BBC. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 European Union of Music Competitions for Youth. Menuhin Competition. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  3. Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists (2016). Application Information Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Tripodianos, Maria (8 January 2010). "Menuhin Competition 2010" Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine . Ole Bull 200th Anniversary (OleBull2010.no). Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 Evans, Rian (16 April 2008). "Menuhin Competition". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. University of Texas, Austin. (22 January 2014). "Bringing an American Flavor to the Menuhin Competition" Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 Clements, Andrew (8 April 2016). "Philharmonia/Yamada review – moments of insight in Menuhin Competition curtain-raiser". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  8. Kjemtrup, Inge (19 April 2016). "Report from the Menuhin Competition". Strings. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Les Échos du Pas-de-Calais (27 March 2006). "Boulogne-sur-Mer accueille le concours Yehudi-Menuhin" Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 14 May 2016 (in French).
  10. Jolly, James (15 January 2014). "The Menuhin Competition returns to London in 2016". Gramophone . Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Green, Andrew (18 March 2016). "Coming home: the Menuhin Competition returns to London". Classical Music . Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. 1 2 Niles, Laura (14 February 2014). "Gordon Back and the History of the Menuhin Competition". Violinist.com. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  13. Qian, Mu (26 April 2011). "Beijing to host Menuhin Competition". China Daily . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  14. Thompson, Damian (22 March 2014). "Menuhin is the world’s toughest violin competition. Why is it packed with Asians, and no Brits?". The Spectator . Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. 1 2 Jeal, Erica (18 April 2016). "Menuhin competition: young talent and hints of greatness to come". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  16. Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. About. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  17. "Menuhin Competition Richmond 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  18. "Candidates Announced for 2020 Menuhin International Violin Competition". 22 January 2020.
  19. Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Menuhin Competition Trust, Charity no. 284467. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  20. Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. The Trust. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  21. Classic FM (2008). "Playing to the Jury!" Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  22. Quinton, Luke (3 March 2014). "Menuhin Violin Competition: A critic's wrap-up and review". Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  23. All Menuhin Competition prizes in this list are sourced from: Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. Laureates Archives. Retrieved 14 May 2016
  24. The Strad (20 April 2018). "Chloe Chua and Christian Li share Menuhin Competition 2018 Junior Division first prize". Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  25. All results in these sections are sourced from: Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. Laureates Archives. Retrieved 14 May 2016

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