Third Edition of Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition to Finish Online

The 2020 competition will be completed after three years of disruption due to COVID-19 

The Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC) announced the decision to change its competition structure after being postponed in 2020.

Instead of competing for rankings, the six candidates that reached the final round will jointly present a concert entitled “In Tribute to Isaac Stern’s Centennial SISIVC Winners’ Concert” from August 26-28, 2022. The concert will be available to watch on SISIVC’s official social media channels.

The six candidates are:

• Rino Yoshimoto (Japan)
• Thomas Lefort (France)
• Ruifeng Lin (China)
• Felicitas Schiffner (Germany)
• Angela Sin Ying Chan (Hong Kong, China)
• Shannon Lee (United States)

Last month, the Organisation Committee and the chairpersons of the jury committee – Mr. David Stern and Ms. Vera Tsu Weiling – hosted an online conference with the six candidates, announcing the decision.

Each of the six candidates will be awarded a certificate for entering the final round of the 2020 SISIVC, as well as a scholarship of $20,000 USD for their future education and career development.

To create the final competitors' concert, the candidates will perform and record the repertoire of the final round including two concerto performances: a concerto of their choice plus ‘Night Tour’ by Zhou Tian, a piece commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Zhou Tian is the first Chinese musician to be nominated for a Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

In preparation for their recorded videos, each candidate will receive support from the SISIVC to pay for their expenses for a professional recording experience.

“Performing artists, especially musicians, are and will always be able to achieve the biggest impact by playing in front of a live audience," said Long Yu, President of the Organisation Committee and Music Director of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. "Competing online would help us decide the ranking of each candidate, but the ultimate goal of the competition is not ranking. This is just a means to discover and support musicians.

"Under the current circumstances, it is more important to effectively send these six candidates on track to the next chapter of their music journey," he added. "That’s why we have decided to provide them with scholarships and continued support measures, in order to help them head into the future with an easier and more determined path. The jury members were touched by this plan too. They saw in it the organizers’ respect for music and young musicians."

The jury committee will not give scores for each performance, but they will provide detailed reactions of each candidate’s performance, acting as mentors rather than competition jury members.

“I am very proud of the imaginative solution that the SISIVC has put in place in order to bring the 2020 competition to a just conclusion," Mr. David Stern said. "The continuing difficulties connected to the pandemic have obligated us to invent an entirely new outcome. The six talented candidates who managed to make it to the finals already deserve credit for persevering during these difficult times.

"Offering these young people an equal amount of money as a scholarship and planning future concert appearances with China’s premier orchestras shows that the SISIVC is committed to supporting young talent beyond the expected competition structure. These six musicians represent the future, and our job is to be part of a worldwide network that is committed to supporting them.”

For more information about SISIVC, click here.