Candidates Announced at Poland's Mieczysław Wajnberg International Violin Competition

This year's competition will be held from December 4-12 at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice

The 2021 Mieczysław Wajnberg International Violin Competition announced the 27 candidates advancing to the opening round.

Open to the general public, the competition will be held in three rounds. Finalists will be accompanied by the Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra.

The competition was founded in honor of Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg, whose legacy was discovered recently after a revival concert series at the 2010 Bregenz Festival in Austria. Today, he is regarded as one of the greatest Polish composers of the 20th century, alongside Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, and Krzysztof Penderecki.

The opening round candidates include:

• Karolina Górny

• Eimi Wakui

• Maya Levy

• Christine Bernsted

• Kokoro Imagawa

• Magdalena Sypniewska

• Shan-Shih Chang

• Olivia Bujnowicz

• Kornelia Figielska

• Takako Yumiba

• Anna Savkina

• Magdalena Geka

• Alexandra Pavlenko 

• Magdalena Marcinowicz-Tomanek

• Aleksandra Kornowicz

• Bartłomiej Fraś

• Weronika Biela

• Zuzanna Gajos

• Michał Orlik

• Magdalena Nawojska

• Marika Ikeya

• Jan Pietkiewicz

• Elina Buksha

• Sławomira Wilga

• Dmitry Serebrennikov

• Evgenii Artemenkov

• Sara Dragan

Open to violinists of any nationality born between 1990 and 2002, the first prize winner will be awarded €5,000.

The 2021 jury will comprise Szymon Krzeszowiec (Chairman), Andreas Verzinger, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Maria Sławek, Aleksander Trostiansky, and VC Artist Jennifer Pike.