Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition Announces Semifinalists

18 violinists have qualified for the Semifinals of the 10th edition, being held in Vienna, Austria, from September 17-25, 2022

The Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition is open to violinists born after September 25, 1991, who are determined to pursue an international career. 42 participants from all over the world performed their concertos for violin solo in the first round of the competition. The 25-minute recitals featured highly varied programs with compositions by Kreisler, Paganini, Wieniawski, Ernst, and Bach.

All rounds of the competition are being streamed on The Violin Channel. Tune in here.

The 18 competitors who advanced to the Semifinals are:

Ma, Tianyou – 21, China

Matsuoka, Seina – 28, Japan

Sant’Anna e Silva, Guido – 17, Brazil

Fheodoroff, Fanny – 26, Austria

Ispir, Luka – 23, France

Choi, Elli – 21, USA

Lu, Jiaqi – 25, China

Abouzahra, Amira – 16, Germany

Chung, Wonbeen – 24, South Korea

Bourg, Claire – 27, USA

Nussbaumer, Raphael – 16, Switzerland

Zhelezny, Leonid – 28, Russia

Kogan, Daniel – 29, Canada

Shaham, Michael – 18, Israel

Yoshimoto, Rino – 19, Japan

Seki, Tomotaka – 23, Japan

Pocitari, Lilia – 24, Moldova

Zharova, Galiya – 30, Russia

The second round will compete in the Semi-Finals on September 20-22 at the Künstlerhaus with free admission. The participants will present a 55-minute program of pieces for violin and piano, from the baroque to the present.

The first round of Finals with six finalists will be on September 23 and the Gala Finals, with the last three competitors, will be held on September 25. The last three finalists will play with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Joel.

Prize money of €20,000, 15,000, 10,000, 7,000, 6,000, 5,000 will go to first through sixth place respectively.

The first prize winner will receive several concert engagements including with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Nizhny Novgorod State Philharmonic, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana.

Additionally, the first prize includes a CD recording on NAXOS and a tour of Asia in May 2023 with World Culture Networks (WNC). We recently talked to Naxos Founder and head, Klaus Heymann, on the collaboration with the Kreisler Violin Competition, his thoughts on starting a career as a young musician, and the state of the classical music industry.

Previous major prize winners include VC Artists William Hagen, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, and Sergey Khachatryan.