Prizewinners Announced at the 2024 Netherlands Violin Competition

22-year-old violinist Salomé Bonnema won the Oskar Back Prize, valued at €12,000

The 29th edition of the Netherlands Violin Competition, which was held in the TivoliVredenburg Hall in Utrecht, has recently come to a close. The competition features a wide range of categories, and offers opportunities to violinists between the ages of 6 and 26.

The competition's premier category is the Oskar Back Prize, which is open to high-level violinists between the ages of 18 and 26. The 22-year-old violinist Salomé Bonnema won the First Prize of €12,000, while Kira van de Woerd won the Second Prize of €6,000 and the €1,500 prize for the best performance of the commissioned work. Enzo Kok came in third (€4,000) and won the audience award of €1,000.

The Oskar Back finals saw each competitor perform alongside Residentie Orkest, conducted by Jonathan Bloxham. The jury for this category comprised Roland Kieft (chair), Marieke Blankestijn, Yoram Ish-Hurwitz, Janet Krause, Cristoph Poppen, Joseph Puglia, Francien Schatborn, Jan Willem de Vriend, and Patty Hamel.

A previous recipient of two prizes at the Netherlands Violin Competition, Salomé Bonnema also won the Princess Christina Competition and was a finalist in the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition. She plays in the award-winning Viride Quartet and studies with Vera Beths at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague.

Marcel Sutedja won the Davina van Wely Prize for serious violinists aged 14 to 17 (€3,000), while Katja Naegele won the Iordens B Prize for violinists aged 13 to 14 and Zoi Degtiareva won the Iordens A Prize for violinists aged 10-12 (€1,000 for both categories).

You can hear Bonnema's winning performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto below.