Prizes awarded at the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition

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From 28 August to 4 September, 29 international violinists over three age categories competed in the 2022 Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition in Kloster Schöntal, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The three age categories were up to 14-years-old, 15 to 17-years-old, and 18 to 21-years-old. 

In the first age group, (up to 14-years-old), Romanian violinist Lois Muntean took first prize. She also won the Baroque special prize and the Gewa violin case special prize.

Joint second prize went to Philipp Chernomor (Germany), Yu Wa Ocean Chow (Hong Kong) and Mathilda Dendorfer (Germany), with Dendorfer and Chernomor winning the Sonata and Virtuoso special prizes respectively. Third prize was awarded to Amina Akhmetzhanova from Kazakhstan.

In the second age group (15 to 17-years-old), German violinist Tareq Matar won first prize, as well as the Bach and Gewa violin case special prizes. Second prize went to Moe Dierstein from Germany, who also won the Sonata and Masuratini violin case special prizes. Third prize was awarded to German violinist, Isabelle Raviol, while US-violinist Tokuji Miyasaka took fourth prize and the Virtuoso special prize.

The third age group (18 to 21-years-old) saw 20-year-old German violinist Katharina Strepp win first prize, as well as the Virtuoso and Gewa violin case special prizes. Strepp also won a special prize courtesy of Florian Leonhardt, entitling her to an exclusive, two-year loan of a fine violin.

Australian violinist Sara Ispas took second prize, as well as the Bach and Masuratini violin case special prizes. Ispas also won the Reinhold Würth Advancement Award worth €5,000, including an appearance as a soloist with the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra.

Lithuanian violinist Pijus Cesaitis took third prize, plus the Sonata special prize and chamber music performance prize, donated by Prof. Dr. Viorica Radoi, while  Aijia Li from China took fourth prize. Joint fifth prize went to Ashley Tsai (Canada) and Elena Meyer (Germany).

The jury was chaired by competition founder professor Petru Munteanu, and comprised Cristina Goicea, Rebekka Hartmann, Axel Strauss, Michael Veimann, and Florian Leonhard.

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