Japanese violinist Koshiro Takeuchi receives the first prize of €6,000
The inaugural Ion Voicu International Violin Competition took place from 7–12 April at the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania, with the finals held in the Romanian Athenaeum grand hall. The three finalists were accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic, conducted by Gabriel Bebeselea.
The first prize of €6,000 was awarded to Japanese violinist Koshiro Takeuchi, 19, who performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major. The second prize of €4,000 went to Japanese violinist Wakana Kimura, 23, who played the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, and the third prize of €2,000 to Spanish violinist Jaime Naya Maceira, 24, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.
During the semi-final round, French violinist Elie Hackel received special awards for Most Promising Young Talent and for Best Interpretation of a Piece by Ion Voicu.
Takeuchi began learning the violin at the age of five and has since won prizes in numerous competitions. This includes 3rd prize at the 2023 Long–Thibaud Competition, 5th Prize at the 2023 Premio Paganini Competition, a semi-finalist ranking in the 2022 Seoul International Music Competition, and multiple prizes at competitions within Japan.
The Ion Voicu International Violin Competition was open to violinists of all nationalities and was organised by the Ion Voicu Cultural Association. It takes its name from the Romanian violinist Ion Voicu (1923-1997), who founded the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra in 1969. The inaugural jury comprised Lucie Robert, Pavel Vernikov, Alexandru Tomescu and George Tudorache, with Mihaela Martin as president of the jury.
The competition offered its compliments to the performers on its website:
‘What talented young people! Congratulations, everyone!’
Read: Semi-finalists announced for 2025 Klein International String Competition
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