Watch the final round of the 79th Concours de Genève viola edition, live at 7pm CET on 12 November 2025 from Victoria Hall, Geneva.
The three finalists – Sarah Strohm (20, Switzerland), Ayaka Taniguchi (23, Japan) and Brian Isaacs (25, US) – will perform twice in the final round. In part one, the contestants will perform the competition’s compulsory work, Nouvel Élan for viola and chamber orchestra by Léo Albisetti (the winning work of the 2024 competition’s composition edition).
Following an intermission in part two, the competitors will perform a concerto of their choice. Strohm and Taniguchi will perform Bartók Viola Concerto (Bartók/Dellamaggiore), while Isaacs will perform Hindemith Viola Concerto Der Schwanendreher.
The performances will be accompanied by Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Cornelius Meister.
Presented by Charlotte Gardner and Julian Sykes, the finals will be followed by the awards ceremony. The top prize up for grabs is CHF20,000 (£17,600), with second and third place receiving CHF12,000 (£10,500) and CHF8,000 (£7,050) respectively.
Additional special prizes are the Audience Prize, Students’ Prize, the Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize, Arts Society Prize, Concerts de Jussy Prize and Hindemith Prize.
This year’s competition jury is chaired by Tabea Zimmermann, and comprises Tomoko Akasaka, Ettore Causa, Cynthia Phelps, Pauline Sachse, Jean Sulem and German Tcakulov.
No comments yet