List of Winners at Vienna Classic Violin Competition Released

8 April 2024

Classic Violin Olympus’s second preselection contest comes to an end, with Yuki Hirano and Mariusz Patyra progressing to Grand Finale.

The inaugural edition of the Classic Violin Olympus International Competition continues to move ever closer, as the second of the competition’s six global preselection contests  came to a close on the 5th of April 2024, in Vienna, Austria

Taking place from the 1st to the 5th of the month in the celebrated Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, this contest saw 20 of the world’s finest violinists go head-to-head, with the top two going on to join the official list of participants who will be appearing at Classic Violin Olympus itself. 

As a small reminder, Classic Violin Olympus, which shall be coming to Dubai, UAE, from the 22nd to the 28th of April 2025, is an invite-only event that can only be accessed through participation in one of its preselection contests. Held in six of the world’s music centres, these preliminary events only allow a maximum of 20 participants each, with the two top-ranked violinists of each contest then being given the opportunity to put their abilities to the test in the Grand Finale itself. 

After passing through an initial video audition phase, the 20 contestants of the Vienna Classic Violin Competition took to the stage in front of an esteemed 5 person jury board consisting of Jury Chairman Pavel Vernikov (Switzerland), as well as Christian Altenburger (Austria), Miguel da Silva (France/Switzerland), Vera Tsu-Weiling (China), and Ingolf Turban (Germany). Across the competition’s five days, each violinist presented a number of varied works from a programme that has been specifically designed to shine a light on all aspects of their skillset. 

For the initial round the candidates were first required to perform one of Niccolò Paganini 24 caprices of their choice, followed by the first movement from one of a predetermined list of concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and then the Violin Sonata from the pens of Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor and Mikhail Pletnev. For those who progressed to the Second Round, the repertoire then became far more flexible, with each violinist being allowed to choose their programme freely as long as it included one virtuoso piece for violin with piano or violin solo, and was no longer, or shorter, than 30-40 minutes respectively. 

After all the performances were completed, the final standings were announced, with Yuki Hirano being declared the winner, Mariusz Patyra taking Second Prize, and Ruifeng Lin being awarded Third Prize.

This means that, in addition to taking their share of the €35,000 prize fund that was on offer – with Hirano winning €20,000, Patyra taking €10,000, and Lin leaving with €5,000 – both Hirano and Patyra have now also won eligibility to participate in Classic Violin Olympus, with all expenses paid. 

Now, all eyes turn to New York, where the third preselection event is soon set to take place. Coming to the Manhattan School of Music from the 27th to the 31st of May 2024, the official list of candidates for this contest has already been announced, which means that all is left is to see who of them will be able to impress the jury and win the next two slots for the Grand Finale. 

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