Finalists Announced for Vienna's "Violins&Soul" Salon Music Violin Competition 2025

Three violinists will compete on June 27, to be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel

Held annually, the AMADEUS Festival Vienna brings together international musicians at the AMADEUS International School Vienna for a series of performances and workshops.

In 2022, the festival launched a competition that focuses solely on the genre of salon music. The Salon Music Violin Competition "Violins&Soul” returns in 2025 for its second edition and has announced the three finalists that will compete on Friday, June 27.

The competition received applications from over 15 nationalities, including China, the United States, South Korea, Cuba, Romania, Peru, Hong Kong, and more. The Jury received only numbered audio files, ensuring that each participant was assessed purely on sound and artistry, and chose the following three violinists:

• Lorenz Karls
• Audrey Park
• Siyi Li

The three finalists will be invited to Vienna to fully immerse themselves in the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. They will stay at the Boarding House of AMADEUS International School Vienna and have the opportunity to participate in the Janoska Style Workshop on June 25, led by the Janoska Ensemble. Each finalist will also receive a full festival pass, granting them and their families access to all concerts and events.

Lucilla Rose Mariotti, winner of the competition’s first edition, will return to the AMADEUS Festival Vienna this year to ceremonially pass on the Golden Period Stradivari from the Goh Family Collection to the new Grand Winner, continuing the prestigious tradition and legacy.

This year marks an especially significant milestone as the festival celebrates its 5th anniversary under the inspiring theme “Women&Culture.” The competition has featured repertoire by prominent women composers such as Amy Beach, Cécile Chaminade, and Lili Boulanger.

Lorenz Karls was born in Vienna into an Austrian Swedish family. He began playing the violin at age 4 and is currently a student at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg. In recent seasons, he appeared at the Mozartwoche Salzburg in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation, followed by concerts with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, WDR Funkhausorchester, Camerata Bern, Odense Symfonieorkester, Kremerata Baltica, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of Milan. Lorenz has won numerous prizes at the Mozart Competitions in Salzburg, Austria, and Zhuhai, China. Lorenz plays the G.B Guadagnini “ ex-Bachmann ” violin kindly loaned to him by the Stephan and Viktoria Schmidheiny Foundation and a Philipp Augustin violin Anno 2023, especially built for him.

Audrey Park is currently pursuing her Master of Music at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Professor Hyo Kang. She received a Bachelor of Music at the Juilliard School, where she studied with Hyo Kang, Frank Huang, and Cho-Liang Lin. Her performances as a soloist include collaborations with orchestras such as the L.A. Virtuosi Orchestra, Peninsula Symphony, and various others. Audrey was the winner of the Chicago International Violin Competition, Ronald Sachs International Competition, Bellagrande International Music Competition, and Edith Knox Performance Competition. She was a semi-finalist in the 2022 National Schadt Violin Competition, the 2022 Indianapolis International Violin Competition, 2023 Stuttgart International Violin Competition, and 2024 Lipinski International Violin. She was a participant in the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition and quarter-finalist in the 2023 Michael Hill International Violin Competition. Ms. Park is also a scholarship recipient from the Mark Zinger Foundation.

Siyi Li, a violinist from China, is a recipient of a full scholarship at New England Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music. He was the resident artist of the Public Performing Space at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing during the 2023-2024 season. After receiving his B.M. Degree from the Central Conservatory of Music, Li has performed in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Seoul. In 2019, Li won First Place in the China-Korea International Violin Competition, as well as Second Place in both the Swiss International Music Competition and Global Music Competition in the US. Li studied under Prof. Danan Liang at the Central Conservatory of Music, and performed in masterclasses for Noah Bendix-Balgey, Boris Kuschnir, Zakhar Bron, Donald Weilerstein, and Ivry Gitlis..