Tibor Junior International Violin Competition semi-finalists announced

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The semi-finalists of the Tibor Junior International Violin Competition have been announced following the competition’s first round on 20 August, which took place at Pôle Musique in Sion, Switzerland.

The six violinists who will proceed to the 22 August semi final are: Corina Deng, 16, from Canada, Natalia Dragan, 15, from Poland, Elina He, 15, from China, Juan José Peña-Aguirre, 14, from Colombia, Viktor Vasilev, 17, from Bulgaria and Qingyuan Yang, 14, from China. 

They are competing for a CHF5,000 (£4,400) first prize. Other prizes including a CHF2,000 (£1,700) second prize, CHF1,000 (£880) third prize, an audience prize, jury prize and a one-year loan of a c.1735 Nicolò Gagliano violin.

In the first round, the competitors performed one of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos, a Paganini caprice and Arvo Pärt’s Passacaglia for two violins, the latter of which was performed alongside another competitor. In the second round,  they will perform Schubert, Weinberg and the competition’s commissioned work by Ana Sokolović. 

The competition is open to violinists of all nationalities aged 14 to 17. It has taken place every two years since its inception in 2018, and in alternance with its senior counterpart, the Tibor Varga Competition.

The 2024 jury comprises Pavel Vernikov (president of the jury), Marie-Claude Chappuis, Mario Hossen, Alexandre Vinnitski, Eduard Wulfson and Ana Sokolović.

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