Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition announces six finalists

After a gruelling five days of semi-finals, the inaugural Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition has named the six candidates (pictured) who have been selected to progress to the finals, taking place this coming Thursday and Friday. The violinists, aged between 18 and 32, are competing for an impressive grand prize of $100,000.

The six finalists are:

Mayu Kishima (Japan)

Sergei Dogadin (Russia)

Stefan Tarara (Germany)

Ming Liu (China)

Richard Lin (US)

Sirena Huang (US)

Whittled down from 18 semi-finalists, the young musicians were judged on their performances of the Butterfly Lovers Concerto by contemporary Chinese composers He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, a sonata, a piano trio, and Mozart's Third Violin Concerto with chamber orchestra. In the final, each candidate will play one show piece and one concerto, both with orchestral accompaniment.

This year’s jury includes Zakhar Bron, Boris Kuschnir and Maxim Vengerov, in addition to Chinese violin professors Zhenshan Wang and Lina Yu, and co-chairs – conductor and son of Isaac Stern, David Stern, and Professor Vera Tsu Weiling.

In addition to six core prizes – including a second prize of $50,000 and a third prize of $25,000 – there will be two special awards for Best Performance of a Chinese Work and the Isaac Stern Award – given to ‘an individual who is deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of humanity through the medium of music’.

For full details visit the SISIVC website.

Read: Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition announces 18 semi-finalists

Read: Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition names 36 shortlisted candidates

Read: Shanghai Symphony launches $100,000 Isaac Stern Violin Competition