Violinist wins the 2024 Ars Classica International Competition

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Winners have been announced for the second edition of the ArsClassica International Competition for Soloists. The competition took place entirely online and was open to violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists of all nationalities between the ages of 18 and 35. 

First prize was awarded to 25-year-old South Korean violinist Anna Im, receiving an engagement for audio and video recordings in historical locations throughout Italy and concert in Rome, valued at €30,000. The recordings will be published and streamed on the ArsClassica and VideoClassica channels.

Second prize was won jointly by South Korean pianist Ye-Eun Hyun and US pianist Anastasiya Magamedova, and third prize was awarded to South Korean cellist Seungyeon Baik. All prizewinners will appear in a gala concert in Rome.

Special mention was also made of South Korean violinist Jaewon Wee and Russian violinist Galiya Zharova.

Im studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she was awarded the Curtis/Milka Violin Artist Prize upon graduation, and subsequently pursued an advanced diploma and master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London with So-Ock Kim. She recently won first prize in the 2024 Stuttgart International Violin Competition, as well as the first prize of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand.

She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Salzburger Solisten, and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and been invited to festivals such as the Kronberg Academy and IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music festivals.

‘I am immensely grateful and honored to have been awarded First Prize in the ArsClassica International Competition, shortly after winning the Stuttgart International Violin Competition,’  Im told The Strad. ‘Music represents a lifelong journey of exploration and growth, and I am thankful for the opportunities these competitions will provide as I build my career.’

This year’s jury comprised a rotating panel of members of the association and performing artists, and was chaired by Paolo Giacomini and Malgorzata Maria Petryla.

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