No first prize was awarded in the senior category
The 20th International Competition for Violin in Kloster Schöntal concluded on 31 August at the monastery’s ballroom in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The competition was open to violinists of all nationalities up to the age of 21 and was dedicated in memory of its founder, violinist Petru Munteanu, who died in November 2023.
Participants were divided into three age categories. In the first category, for violinists up to the age of 15, the first prize of €2,000 was won by Japanese violinist May Ikawa, along with the two-year loan of a violin from Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, London. The second prize of €1,500 was awarded to Australian violinist Jayda Lu, and the third prize of €1,000 to Tsz Yan ‘Tiffany’ Li.
In the second age category, for violinists up to the age of 18, the first prize of €2,500 went to Japanese violinist Natsuho Murata, also winning the Reinhold Würth Sponsorship prize for further training worth $5,000. The second prize of €2,000 was won by Singaporean violinist Madeline Goh, and the third prize of €1,500 by German violinist Emmy Gu.
In the third age category, for violinists up to the age of 21, the first prize of €3,000 was not awarded. Second prize of €2,500 went to Romanian violinist Sofia Smărăndescu, while the third prize of €2,000 was split between Hungarian violinist Dániel Hodos and German violinist Yungi Kaneko. Kaneko was also awarded the Colla Parte prize for the best ensemble performance.
The first prize-winners of each category were given a GEWA violin case, while the second prize-winners each received a Masuratini violin travel case. Participants who reached the final round but did not receive a prize were awarded a finalist bonus of €400.
Each age category also offered a number of special prizes. The €500 Petru Munteanu prize for the best interpretation of the final round violin concerto was awarded to Ikawa and Smărăndescu respectively, while the €300 prize for the best interpretation of the prescribed Baroque work went to Australian violinist Carine Suparman in the first age category, Swiss violinist Marleen Gujer in the second, and Jennifer Gheorghita in the third. The €300 prize for the best interpretation of the prescribed sonata was awarded to Lu, Gu and Kaneko respectively, and the €300 prize for the best interpretation of a virtuoso composition was won by Li, Goh and Hodos. In the third age category, the €300 special prize for the best interpretation of the prescribed contemporary work was awarded to German violinist Erik Maier.
The jury for this year’s competition comprised Rebekka Hartmann, Skerdjano Keraj, Florian Leonhard, Viorica Radoi, Baiba Skride, Yamei Yu and Cem Esen, with Paul Roczek as president of the jury.
Read: Winner of the 2024 Tibor Junior International Violin Competition announced
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