Sueye Park took first prize of €30,000, a one-year loan of a Guadagnini violin, plus career development and performance opportunities
The finals of the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition took place in the Helsinki Music Centre Concert Hall from 27 to 29 May 2025. Six finalists appeared as soloists with both the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and the candidates’ choice of a modern violin concerto.
The jury awarded first prize to South Korean violinist Sueye Park, who won €30,000, plus a one-year loan of the 1777 G.B Guadagnini ‘Sasson’ violin, provided by Dr David Li through Beare’s International Violin Society.
Park is a graduate of the University for Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin, where she studied with Ulf Wallin. As winner of the competition, she will receive personal mentoring from Pekka Kuusisto and John Storgårds to support her artistic development.
Second prize of €20,000 was awarded to Japanese violinist Minami Yoshida, who also received a prize for the best performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto worth €3,000, awarded by the Sibelius family.
Third prize of €15,000 was awarded to US violinist Claire Wells. The other three finalists, Gabrielle Després, Otto Antikainen and Amia Janicki, each received a recognition prize of €3,000. Additionally, Janicki was awarded €2,000 for best performance of the commissioned work The Seasons Remembered, by Outi Tarkiainen, given by the Society of Finnish Composers.
The Sibelius family also donated a special prize of €1,000 to all 18 contestants accepted to the second round.
This year’s jury was chaired by conductor John Storgårds and included violinists Elise Båtnes, Levon Chilingirian, Jinjoo Cho, Sung-Ju Lee, Réka Szilvay, and conductor-violinist Jan Söderblom.
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