Kloster Schöntal Violin Competition names prize winners

The 2019 Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition, held in Schöntal, Germany, has announced its category prize winners.

In the Senior Division (18 to 20 Years Old), 1st prize went to 18-year-old Maxim Tzekov from Austria, a student of Lieke te Winkel and Gerhard Schulz, and a top prize winner at the Allegro Vivo Chamber Music Festival, Prima La Musica and Musica Juventutis Competitions. He receives €3,000. 2nd prize was awarded to 19-year-old Lisa Yasuda from Japan, 3rd prize went to 19-year-old Robert Einenkel from Germany, 4th prize was awarded to 18-year-old Alexandra Weissbecker from Germany, while 20-year-old Kejun Guo from China received 5th prize.

In the Intermediate Division (15 to 17 Years Old), 1st prize was awarded to 15-year-old Daniil Bulayev from Latvia, a current student of Nelli Sarkisyan and Petru Munteanu, who has won top prizes at the Il Piccolo Violino Magico, the Zhuhai international Mozart Competition for Young Musicians and the Kogan International Violin Competition. 2nd prize was awarded to 15-year-old Haewon Lim from South Korea, 3rd prize went to 17-year-old Katharina Auer from Austria, 4th prize was presented to 16-year-old Katharina Strepp from Germany, and 5th prize to 17-year-old Jingran Wang from China.

In the Junior Division (14 Years and Younger), 1st prize was awarded to the 10-year-old Japanese violinist Riisa Nakahara, who has formerly won prizes at the Grumiaux International Violin Competition and the Singapore Violin Festival Competition. 2nd prize was awarded to 13-year-old Dragos Rusanu from Romania, 3rd prize went to 13-year-old Haymon Haffner from Germany, 4th prize was awarded to 13-year-old Bianca Ciubancan from Romania/United States, while 13-year-old German violinist Leonard Toschev received 5th prize. 

Previous major prize winners include InMo Yang, Sarah Christian, Yury Revich, Igor Pikayzen, Alexander Conunova, Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, Rennosuke Fukuda, Ziyu He and Ioana Christina Goicea.

The 2019 jury comprised Petru Munteanu (President), Albena Danailova, Florian Leonhard, Svetlana Makarova, Zhou Qian, J.X. Schachtner, Takashi Shimizu, Elly Suh, Florin Parvulescu and Weidong Tong.