Polish luthier Paweł Kubacka scooped a total of €24,000 for winning first and second prize
The 15th edition of the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Making Competition was held from 9 to 16 May 2025 in Poznań, Poland.
76 instruments were considered for the competition, which took place over several rounds. This included a public exhibition in the Museum of Musical Instruments, as well as assessments from live performances on the violins.
Ten instruments from eight luthiers were considered in the final round.
Polish luthier Paweł Kubacka took both first and second prize of €18,000 and €6,000 for the SONA and LUNA instruments respectively. Kubacka also won €2,000 for the highest rated violin-making qualities of the LUNA instrument.
Chinese luthier Liu Zhaojun won third prize of €4,000 for the instrument SUNRISE, for which he also received €2,000 for the highest rated violin-making qualities.
The winners also received honourary diplomas.
Italian luthier Damiano Catesi won the prize for the highest aesthetic qualities of the scroll, comprising €1,500 and a statuette, funded by Piotr Pielaszek.
Frank Ravatin chaired the jury, which comprised vice-chair Agata Szymczewska, Krzysztof Krupa, Antoine Nedelec, Ji Hwan Park, Noémie Viaud and Soyoung Yoon.
The awards were given at a ceremony on 16 May. The evening included an appearance from the Poldowski Quartet, which performed on the winning instruments. The quartet performed works by Irena Poldowski – the daughter of the Henryk Wieniawski – plus an excerpt from the A minor string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn.
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