The €2,000 first prize in the senior category was awarded to 23-year-old Japanese violinist Wakana Kimura

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Senior category winner Wakana Kimura © facebook.com

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The eighth edition of the Leonid Kogan International Competition for Young Violinists concluded on 8 June at the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, Belgium. The competition comprised four age categories, with cash prizes awarded in the two senior categories.

In the first category, for competitors up to the age of nine, the first prize was awarded to nine-year-old US violinist Valerie Bai, the second prize to eight-year-old Japanese violinist Akihito Ikeda, the third prize to nine-year-old Chinese violinist Geyuan Zhang, the fourth prize to nine-year-old South Korean violinist Yeeum Lee, and the fifth prize to seven-year-old Chinese violinist Zejialin Guan.

In the second category, for competitors aged between 10 and 13, the first prize was won by twelve-year-old Belgian violinist Jude Kimball Alexander. The second prize went to eleven-year-old South Korean violinist Hyunsuk Ryu, while the third prize was shared between twelve-year-old Chinese violinist Menghao Lin and eleven-year-old Canadian violinist Sacha Jorba-Wu. The fourth prize was awarded to twelve-year-old Chinese violinist Zhang Ziqian, and the fifth prize to ten-year-old Chinese violinist Yalan Jin. Sixth prize was shared between eleven-year-old South Korean violinist Jiye Kang, eleven-year-old South Korean violinist Yehwan Shin, and twelve-year-old Chinese violinist Hong Siyue.

In the third category, for competitors aged 14 to 17, the first prize of €1,000 was awarded to 16-year-old Chinese violinist Tiantian Luo, the second prize of €600 to 17-year-old Spanish violinist David Martínez González, while the third prize of €400 was shared between 17-year-old Moldovian–Romanian violinist Mihai Mangir and 15-year-old Turkish violinist Deniz Yakin. Other finalists in the category were 16-year-old Taiwanese violinist Xiwen Chen and 15-year-old US–Romanian violinist Sebastien Manning.

In the fourth category, for competitors aged between 18 and 23, the first prize of €2,000 was won by 23-year-old Japanese violinist Wakana Kimura, the second prize of €1,000 by 19-year-old Italian violinist Mattia Pagliani, and the third prize of €500 by 22-year-old Chinese violinist Zixuan Wang. Other finalists of the category were 19-year-old Singaporean violinist Isabelle Ong and 23-year-old Japanese violinist Seito Nakazawa.

All finalists receive a diploma for their presence at the competition, with all competitors receiving a certificate of participation.

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