VC INTERVIEW | Dr. Regula Rapp Talks to Us About Stuttgart's Inaugural International Violin Competition

VC recently caught up with Dr. Regula Rapp, President of the Stuttgart University of Music and host of the inaugural Stuttgart International Violin Competition — set to take place from July 19-24, 2021

 

Hosted by the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and the Guadagnini Foundation, the competition is open to international violinists 28 years of age and younger.

As the competition's official international media and broadcast partner, all rounds will be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel. You won't miss a beat.

 

Dr. Rapp, what is the main mission for hosting a new violin competition and what do you hope can be achieved?

"The Foundation, with the aim of supporting great violinists, thinks that competitions, in general, are an effective tool to find talent from around world and bring them to Stuttgart.

With this competition, we are also looking forward to enriching the cultural life in Stuttgart."

 

How important do you feel competitions are for launching a young musician’s performance career?

"Of course there is no guarantee of a successful career after having won a competition, but it can definitely help as a kind of 'go ahead.'  

After the competitions, it will be of crucial importance to stay in close contact with the orchestras and festivals."

 

There are many competitions today and many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners. What do you feel are the differentiating elements that propel some young musicians to a successful and sustainable performance career?

"It will be important for the winners to build up relationships and to network with orchestras, etc...

Also, it will be of great advantage if a competition prize includes a loan instrument."

 

How did this collaboration between the Stuttgart University of Music, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Guadagnini Foundation come together?

"The University is in the lucky position that the Guadagnini Foundation chose us as its partners.

We are grateful that our string department is very strong and internationally successful."

 

How did you go about selecting your jury? 

"The 24 elected young talents expect to be judged impartially, in a fair and transparent way.

As members of the jury, we asked professionals from different areas: soloists, university professors, well-known string quartet players, and critics."

 

How important are fairness and transparency in your voting process? What initiatives do you have in place to ensure an unbiased result?

"Fairness and transparency are always our main concerns.

For us, it was therefore of great importance to have a balanced jury, not only comprised of professors and academic staff, for example."

 

 

The first prize winner will receive €25,000, a number of important performance engagements, and the loan of a 1746 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin.

The 2021 jury is set to comprise Ingolf Turban (President), Harald Eggebrecht, Rudolf Koelman, Natalia Prishepenko, Josef Rissin, Christian Sikorski and VC Artist Tobias Feldmann.

 

As the competition's official international media and broadcast partner all rounds will be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel and available for playback. You won't miss a beat.