The second round will take place from 23 to 25 May at the Sibelius Academy
The first round of the eighth Jean Sibelius Violin Competition took place from 19 to 21 May 2025 at the Concert Hall of Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy. 40 violinists performed a 30 minute-recital comprising solo and accompanied works by Bach, Ernst, Paganini, Salvatore Sciarrino, Sibelius and Jörg Widmann.
The jury, comprising John Storgårds (chair), Elise Båtnes, Jan Söderblom, Jinjoo Cho, Levon Chilingirian, Réka Szilvay and Sung-Ju Lee, has selected 18 violinists to progress to the second round, which will take place from 23 to 25 May. They are:
Gabrielle Després (Canada, b.2000)
Otto Antikainen (Finland, b.1999)
Nakyung Kang (South Korea, b.2003)
Wonbeen Chung (South Korea, b.1997)
Claire Wells (US, b.2001)
Hyun Jae Lim (South Korea, b.1997)
Minami Yoshida (Japan, b.1998)
Sara Watanabe (Japan, b.2005)
Qingzhu Weng (China, b.2001)
Bohdan Luts (Ukraine, b.2004)
Marika Konishi (Japan, b.2007)
Marina Wako (Japan, b.2007)
Aoi Saito (Japan, b.1997)
Amia Janicki (Switzerland, b.1997)
Sueye Park (South Korea, b.2000)
Yukiko Uno (Japan, 1995)
Alice Lee (South Korea, b.2000)
Anna Lee (South Korea, b.1995)
In the second round, competitors will perform solo and accompanied works with pianist, including the competition’s commissioned work, The Seasons Remembered, by Outi Tarkiainen.
The final rounds of the competition will take place from 27 to 29 May, where the finalists will perform two concertos with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pekka Kuusisto and Dima Slobodeniouk respectively.
The prizes up for grabs include first prize of €30,000, second prize of €20,000 and third prize of €15,000. Three other finalists will receive €3,000 and all contestants who reach the second round will receive €1,000 from the Sibelius family.
The Finnish Composers will donate a special prize of €2,000 for the best performance of the 2025 competition’s commissioned work.
J&A Beare and the Beare’s International Violin Society will facilitate the loan of a fine violin to a candidate for one year, with possible extension.
Additionally, winning candidates will receive mentorship and future performance engagements.
Read: ‘Not allowed’: violinist turned away from Norse Atlantic Airways flight
Read: Results announced for the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Making Competition
The number one source for playing and teaching books, guides, CDs, calendars and back issues of the magazine.
In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.
The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
No comments yet