Applications Closing for London, Rome, and Dubai Classic Violin Competitions

First and second prize winners of each event will move on to compete for a $200,000 prize in the Classic Violin Olympus International Competition

Open to participants of all ages and nationalities, the Classic Violin Olympus International Competition is currently accepting applications for three of its six pre-selection competitions around the globe.

Applications are open to the London Classic Violin Competition, which will be held at London’s Royal College of Music from August 26-30. Applications will close on May 12.

Later in May, the Rome Classic Violin Competition will see its application deadline on May 26.

Lastly, the Dubai Classic Violin Competition is accepting applications until August 4.

To register, applicants must visit the website of their desired contest, fill in the registration form, and submit their video application for the audition stage.

The Classic Violin Olympus International Competition has already completed two of its six pre-selection competitions throughout 2024, with the third happening this month in New York.

The first contest, the Tokyo Classic Violin Competition, was held at the Tokyo University of the Arts in March and announced South Korean violinist Soyoung Yoon as the First Prize and Russian violinist Andrey Baranov as the Second Prize.

This was followed by the Vienna Classic Violin Competition at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna in April, where Yuki Hirano received the First Prize and Mariusz Patyra won the Second Prize.

The third iteration will be held at New York’s Manhattan School of Music between May 27-31.

Each of these competitions carries a total prize fund of €35,000 as well as a special invitation to the two top-ranked competitors to travel to Dubai in April 2025 and participate in the culminating Classic Violin Olympus itself, with all expenses paid.

With Artistic Director Pavel Vernikov and President Konstantin Ishkhanov, the competition will invite 12 talented violinists to this Grand Finale in Dubai.

The Classic Violin Olympus Grand Finale will consist of two rounds of performances alongside a symphonic orchestra. The First Prize winner will be awarded €200,000 out of a total prize fund of €310,000. In addition to the monetary prizes, the 23-member jury board, which will be exclusively made up of preeminent conductors and directors of acclaimed orchestras, festivals, and concert series, shall each offer a number of finalists the unique opportunity of performing live on stage at one of their upcoming concerts.

Moreover, in addition to its unprecedented international scope, the decision has also been made to remove all age restrictions from the registration criteria. This decision has been motivated by an overwhelming interest from violinists all over the world, as well as the desire to ensure that Classic Violin Olympus will discover the best violinists of our time, irrespective of all other factors.

For more information about Classic Violin Olympus and links to each of the pre-selection contests, please visit the official website here.