Henri Marteau International Violin Competition Names Semifinalists

Held in Bavaria every third year, the competition is open to violinists under the age of 25

Germany's Henri Marteau International Violin Competition recently named the twenty young violinists who will progress through to its semifinals. The semifinals are taking place this week, with the finals to be held on Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5, 2023.

Named for the prominent French violinist Henri Marteau, the competition takes place every three years in Bavaria. It is open to violinists of all nationalities who are under the age of 25.

Those selected for the semifinals are as follows:

• Leon Blekh
• Sonja Bogner
• Hawijch Elders
• Ferdinand Eppendorf
• Benjamin Günst
• Semi Hong
• Maya Alexandra Kasprzak
• Teofil Milenkovic
• Sakura Nakagawa
• Mako Ochiai
• Sophi Rochlin
• Tsukushi Sasaki
• Luisa Schwegler
• Leyang Tang
• Chinatsu Tatsumi
• Ming-Chun Teng
• Quentin Vogel
• Julian Walder
• Mascha Wehrmeyer
• Xunyue Zhang

In the semifinals, each candidate will present a recital of approximately 60 minutes. Repertoire includes Marteau's Caprice No. 1, the first movement of a Beethoven sonata, one Max Reger prelude, and a virtuoso piece — as well as the commissioned work by the Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye.

In 2023, the jury comprises Gilbert Varga, Michael Frischenschlager, Erika Geldschletzer, Ilya Kaler, Nam Yun Kim, Natalia Lomeiko, Silvia Marcovici, Kurt Saßmannshaus, Alexandra Soumm, and Ingolf Turbam.