International Max Rostal Competition Announces Viola Finalists

Three finalists will perform with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra on October 24

Founded in 1991, the International Max Rostal Competition has been hosted at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) since 2009 for violin and viola players aged under 30. Currently underway, the competition's violin and viola categories offer the first prize winner €7,000, the second prize winner €3,000, and the third prize winner €1,500.

The 2024 viola finalists are Brian Isaacs, Marina Kosaka, and Kyungsik Shin.

Both violin and viola finalists will play with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra) and conductor Pavel Baleff on October 24 and 25, respectively. You can watch the live stream here.

Chaired by David Geringas, the 2024 jury comprises Marianne Piketty, Kyung Sun Lee, Christoph Poppen, Lars Anders Tomter, Nils Mönkemeyer, and Carol Rodland.

Other prizes include €500 for the best interpretation of the commissioned work, an audience prize of €1,000, plus the €500 special prize of the Freunde Junger Musiker Berlin e.V.

Additionally, the first, second, and third prize winners in both categories will respectively win five sets, three sets, and one set of strings from Pirastro.

On October 22, the second round of the violin competition will see the following compete:

• Beatrice Colombis
• YiWei Gu
• Benjamin Günst
• Aoi Saito
• Jake Dongyoung Shim
• Maxim Tzekov
• Varvara Vasylieva
• Victoria Wong