Participants Announced for Poland's Wajnberg Competition

Twenty-five young violinists have been selected for the competition, which will take place from December 1-8, 2024

Founded in 2021 and currently on its second edition, the International Mieczysław Wajnberg Violin Competition in Katowice, Poland was named for Polish composer Mieczysław Wajnberg, whose contemporaries included Lutosławski, Prokofiev, Bartók, and Shostakovich.

Open to violinists of any nationality born between 1993 and 2005 (inclusive), the competition will award a €10,000 first prize, €5,000 for second place, and €3,000 for the third prize winner. Each of the finalists will also receive a diploma.

It has recently been announced that in 2024, the jury will comprise Szymon Krzeszowiec (Chair, Poland), Eszter Haffner (Austria), Dima Tkachenko (Ukraine), Maria Sławek (Poland), Andreas Vierziger (Austria), and Łukasz Błaszczyk (Poland).

The competition will run from December 1 to December 8, 2024. Twenty-five violinists have been selected to take part, as follows:

1. Besman Kristina
2. Błachuta Julia
3. Coman Iohan
4. Cooreman Alexandra
5. Decaris Arthur
6. Hakkarainen Matthew
7. Horvat Maja
8. Jagiełło Łukasz
9. Koroleva Vasilisa
10. Lee Youngjoo
11. Marton Mira
12. Orlik Michał
13. Park Mee-Hyun Esther
14. Perl Anna
15. Pocitari Lilia
16. Pozorska Hanna
17. Saito Aoi
18. Sakamoto Reika
19. Samarasekara Andrew
20. Şimonca-Opriţa Ștefan
21. Wilewska Gaja
22. Yoshioka Reina
23. Yumiba Yumiko
24. Zou Meng
25. Zou Zhang

The festival opens with an Inaugural Concert on December 1, which will feature Gidon Kremer (violin), Wojciech Rodek (conductor), and the Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra.