Tibor Varga International Violin Competition Announces 2025 Participants

28 violinists were chosen to compete in Sion, Switerzland, from August 22 to 30

Held biennially in Sion, Switzerland, the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition is dedicated to discovering and promoting new talented artists of all nationalities.

Open to young violinists aged between 17 and 30, the competition saw 160 young players register this year.  Only 28 candidates have been selected to take part in the public rounds, which will be held in Sion from August 22 to 30, 2025, first at the Pöle Musique and then in the new hall Noda BCVS.

The 28 candidates are:

• Aymeric Bonhomme
• Iohan Coman
• John Fawcett
• Helene Freytag
• Alexis Hatch
• Daisy Lee
• Charlie Lovell-Jones
• Maria Lundina
• Elene Meipariani
• Veronika Miecznikowski
• Hana Mundiya
• Yukiko Okubo
• Naoko Owaki
• Audrey Park
• Boogyeom (Bobby) Park
• Vadym Perig
• Reika SATO
• Lisa-Maria Sekine
• ZIXUAN SHEN
• Mitsuhiro Shimada
• Hyukjun Sohn
• Simone Spadino Pippa
• Eva Ter-Sarkisova
• Kristóf Tóth
• Yu-Ching Tsao
• Alexandra Weissbecker
• Aozhe Zhang
• Xunyue Zhang

"Due to the high participation and the exceptional level of all these young violinists, six additional candidates have been admitted to the waiting list", explains jury chair Pavel Vernikov.

The 12 candidates will move on to the second round on August 25 and 26, focusing on the violin sonata.

On August 28 at Noda BCVS, the third round will consist of the six remaining competitors performing chamber music with soprano Ekaterina Shelehova, cellist Thomas Grossenbacher, and pianist Adrian Oetiker.

The final on August 30 at Noda BCVS will see three finalists perform a violin concerto, accompanied by the South Czech Philharmonic and wind players from prestigious Italian orchestras, conducted by Valentin Uryupin.

The first prize winner will receive CHF 20,000; second place is CHF 10,000, and third prize is awarded with CHF 5,000.

Special prizes include the CHF 3,000 Prize of the Best Interpretation of the commissioned piece, as well as the Audience and Youth Jury Prizes worth CHF 500 each.

The 2025 international jury will be chaired by Pavel Vernikov and comprise Monika Baer, Ariadne Daskalakis, Thomas Grossenbacher, Sunny Lee, Fumiaki Miura, Adrian Oetiker, Lucie Robert and Anton Sorokow.