Premio Paganini Violin Competition Announces 24 Finalists

24 violinists will compete in Italy in October 2025

The 58th “Premio Paganini” International Violin Competition is open to candidates of any nationality aged between 15 and 30. This year's event will take place from October 14 - 26, 2025, in Genoa, Italy.

A record number of nine violinists (*) have been admitted directly, having recently won first, second, or third prizes in competitions affiliated with the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC). The remaining fifteen candidates earned their place through a highly competitive live preselection process held between April and May in five cities: Genoa, Guangzhou, Seoul, New York, and Berlin.

The 24 finalists include:

• MARIAM ABOUZAHRA* – Hungary / Egypt / Germany
• CALVIN ALEXANDER – United States
• WONBEEN CHUNG – South Korea
• SARA DRAGAN* – Poland
• HIU SING FAN– Hong Kong
• KAORI FURUSAWA – Japan
• MIU HIRAI – Japan
• YIYANG HOU – China
• JENNY JIN YEYEONG* – South Korea
• EMIRI KAKIUCHI – Japan
• LORENZ KARLS* – Austria
• HYUN SEO KIM* – South Korea
• SOHYUN KO – South Korea
• JINZHU LI* – China
• TIANYOU MA* – China
• ULISSE MAZZON – Italy
• SERGEI MKRTICHIAN – Russia
• TEOFIL MILENKOVIC – Italy / Serbia
• JAIME NAYA – Spain
• YUKI SERINO – Italy / Japan
• JAKE DONGYOUNG SHIM * – South Korea
• RINO YOSHIMOTO* – Japan
• AOZHE ZHANG – China
• MENG ZOU – Singapore

The auditions were evaluated by a distinguished international panel chaired by Artistic Director Nicola Bruzzo and composed of world-renowned violinists: Alexandra Conunova, Andrea Obiso (Genoa), Bin Huang (Guangzhou), Min Kim (Seoul), Timothy Chooi (New York), and Natalia Prishepenko (Berlin).

“We listened to over 100 young violinists from around the world,” said Artistic Director Nicola Bruzzo. “The technical and interpretive level we encountered this year was nothing short of extraordinary, perhaps the highest we’ve seen in a very long time. The selected candidates impressed us with an artistic maturity and musical depth rarely found at such a young age. Once again, the Paganini confirms its role as a global stage for discovering the next generation of great violinists.”

In October, the 24 violinists will perform in front of the jury, which is chaired by Uto Ughi and composed of Ana Chumachenco, Pavel Berman, Pamela Frank, Mihaela Martin, Enzo Restagno, and Sayaka Shoji.

Six competitors will perform in the final round, which will be held on October 25, with the Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice.

The first prize winner will receive €30.000, a series of engagements at many prestigious concert venues both national and international, and, for the first time, a recording contract with the Platoon label.

The winner will also have the opportunity to play Paganini's 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin “Cannone” in a gala concert on October 26, 2025.

The Premio Paganini, whose first edition took place 70 years ago, is hosting concerts at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, Museo del Prado in Madrid, The Guildhall in London including a collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Antonio Pappano, and former winner Simon Zhu who played the legendary "Cannone" violin in the presence of His Majesty King Charles III.