Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists

The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, mostly referred to only as the Menuhin Competition, is an international violin competition for young players under the age of 22, founded by Yehudi Menuhin. The competition is a member of EMCY.

History

The first competition took place in Folkestone in Kent, England in 1983.

The competition is an international violin competition for young players under the age of 22. Since 1983 the competition has attracted young violinists from around the world. Many of the participants and prize-winners have gone on to become international soloists. Among them are Tasmin Little, Nikolaj Znaider, Ilya Gringolts, Julia Fischer, Daishin Kashimoto, Hu Kun, Lara St. John and Ray Chen.

The Menuhin Competition combines a violin competition with a festival of education, music and cultural exchange. All competitors stay throughout the entire event, often with local host families. To date the competition has been hosted in Folkestone, Boulogne-sur-Mer in France and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and in 2012 it has been invited by the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

In addition to the competition rounds, the Menuhin Competition stages a series of concerts, master classes and outreach events. Recent competitions have been live-streamed on the internet.

The Menuhin Competition asks jury members to perform a concert and give a masterclass as part of their jury service. Past and present jury members include: Maxim Vengerov, Renaud Capuçon, Pamela Frank, Dong-Suk Kang, Kyoko Takezawa, Bruno Canino, Raphael Wallfisch, Igor Oistrakh, Olivier Charlier and Miriam Fried. The Trustees of The Menuhin Competition are Duncan Greenland (Chair), Joji Hattori (President), Farad Azima, Celia Blakey, Sir John Boyd, John Hughes, Zamira Menuhin Benthall and Jeremy Menuhin. Artistic Director of the competition is pianist Gordon Back and General Manager is Susanne Barthelmes.

The most recent competition took place in Oslo in Norway from 16 to 25 April 2010. It was organised in partnership with the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Barratt Due Institute of Music, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Opera House and the Norwegian Council for Schools of Music and Performing Art. The next competition will be held from 6 to 15 April 2012 Beijing at the Central Conservatory of Music.

Prize Winners

Menuhin Competition 2010

• Senior 1st Prize – Xiang Yu, People's Republic of China
• Senior 2nd Prize – Nigel Armstrong, United States of America
• Senior 3rd Prize – Suyeon Kang, Australia
• Senior 4th Prize – Ji Won Song, Republic of Korea
• Special Prize-"Violin Prize" – A. Timothy Chooi, Canada

• Junior 1st Prize – Kerson Leong, Canada
• Junior 2nd Prize – Stephen Waarts, United States of America
• Junior 3rd Prize – Ji Eun Anna Lee, Republic of Korea
• Junior 4th Prize – Taiga Tojo, Japan
• Junior 5th Prize – Callum Smart, United Kingdom
• EMCY Award – Guro Kleven Hagen, Norway

Menuhin Competition 2008

• Senior 1st Prize – Ray Chen, Australia
• Senior 2nd Prize – Jiafeng Chen, China
• Senior 3rd Prize – Evgeny Sviridov, Russia
• Senior 4th Prize – Stella Chen, USA

• Junior 1st Prize – Chad Hoopes, USA
• Junior 2nd Prize – Dmitry Smirnov, Russia
• Junior 3rd Prize – Mindy Chen, USA
• Junior 4th Prize – Ke Zhu, People's Republic of China
• Junior 5th Prize – Seohyun Lim, Korea
• Junior Composer’s Prize – Yu-Ah Ok, Republic of Korea

See also

• List of classical music competitions
• violin
• For instruments related to the violin, see String instruments.
• Electric violin
• Baroque violin
• Stroh violin
• Violin making and maintenance
• Basic physics of the violin
• Composers for violin
• Classical violinists

External links

• Official Menuhin Competition Website
• European Union of Music Competitions for Youth
• World Federation of International Music Competitions
• Website of the Artistic Director Gordon Back
• ClassicalNet: Festivals, Competitions, Concerts & Concert Venues
• / Classical music competitions at the Open Directory Project