VC LIVE | 2021 Stuttgart International Violin Competition [WATCH NOW]

The inaugural competition is held in Stuttgart, Germany from July 19-24 — with all rounds streamed LIVE here on The Violin Channel and available for your playback

24-year-old Eva Rabchevska from Ukraine has been awarded first prize at this year's competition.

A graduate of the Bratislava State Conservatory, in Slovakia, and current student of Zakhar Bron at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, in Madrid, Eva is a former major prize winner at the Carl Flesch and Karol Lipinski International Violin Competitions. She was also recently one of twelve finalists at the prestigious 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition.

Hosted by the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and the Guadagnini Foundation, Eva will receive €25,000, a number of important solo performance opportunities, and the three year loan of a 1746 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini fine violin, from the Guadagnini Foundation collection.

Second and third prizes were awarded to 18-year-old Hana Chang from United States and 25-year-old Anna Agafia Egholm from Denmark. They will receive €15,000 and €10,000, respectively.

Fourth prize was awarded to 27-year-old Gyehee Kim from South Korea.

 

“I am so very proud of how, this our first competition, was organized, conducted, implemented and received by the public,” Markus Klein, President from the Guadagnini Foundation and event organizer told The Violin Channel.

“My hearty congratulations goes out to our inaugural winner Eva and also to our other three exceptional finalists this week, Hana, Anna and Gyehee. All four young ladies presented themselves to Stuttgart and to the world, via our online partnership, to be outstanding and original solo violinists and I feel very confident each are already on their way to very promising career paths.”

“All of us at the Guadagnini Foundation are now looking forward to working closely with Eva as she embarks on her winner’s schedule, with concerto engagements with a number of important European orchestras, including the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Hamburg and Nuremberg Symphonies. I know she will represent the competition and the foundation proudly, and my team and I will be here with her to support her development and ascension,” he said.

 

SATURDAY JULY 24, 2021

FINAL ROUND SESSION 1  — LIVE FROM 7:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM THE STUTTGART LIEDERHALLE BEETHOVEN HALL

 

For the final round of the competition, each of the four finalists are required to perform either the Brahms, Tchaikovsky, or Sibelius Violin Concertos — under the baton of conductor Nabil Shehata and the Stuttgart Philharmonic.

"I can assure everyone, that the 21 young violinists invited here this week in Stuttgart can expect to be judged impartially, in a fair and completely transparent way. Fairness and transparency are our absolute priority," Dr. Regula Rapp, President of the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and Co-Host of the competition this week told The Violin Channel.

"For our members of the jury this year, we asked professionals from numerous different areas, including soloists, university professors, well-known string quartet players, and critics."

"Of course there is no guarantee of a successful career after winning any competition, but it can definitely help you more forward and get yourself ahead," she said.

This year's international jury is made up of Ingolf Turban (President), Harald Eggebrecht, Rudolf Koelman, Natalia Prishepenko, Josef Rissin, Christian Sikorski, and VC Artist Tobias Feldmann.

 

 

Gyehee Kim (27, South Korea)

• Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor

Hana Chang (18, United States)

• Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major

 

A graduate of the Seoul National University of the Arts and the Curtis Institute of Music and current student of Christoph Poppen and Lena Neudauer at the Munich University of Music and Theatre, Gyehee Kim is a former top prize winner at the George Enescu, Andrea Postacchini, Munetsugu Angel and Isang Yun International Violin Competitions.

A current student of Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music, Hana is a former major prize winner at the Stradivarius, Spohr and Prague Springs International Violin Competitions, and in May of this year was awarded 3rd prize in the senior division of the 2021 Menuhin Competition, in Richmond. Hana currently performs on a fine Amati violin on generous loan from The Rin Collection in Singapore.

 

SATURDAY JULY 24, 2021

FINAL ROUND SESSION 2 — LIVE FROM 9:30 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM THE STUTTGART LIEDERHALLE BEETHOVEN HALL

 

For the final round of the competition, each of the four finalists are required to perform either the Brahms, Tchaikovsky, or Sibelius Violin Concertos — under the baton of conductor Nabil Shehata and the Stuttgart Philharmonic.

“We've all been extremely impressed with the very high standard of the playing we've heard this week in our opening and semi-final rounds here at our inaugural competition, in Stuttgart," Markus Klein, President from the Guadagnini Foundation and event organizer told The Violin Channel.

"I don’t envy our jury members who I'm sure are going to have a very difficult time on Saturday deciding between these fine, young, world-class violinists."

"Each of our four finalists is all from completely different backgrounds, countries, and schooling influences and each has already displayed this week very distinctive styles and diverse approaches to their music making. Saturday is going to be extraordinarily exciting!" he said.

The first, second and third 2021 prizes winners will be announced today at 12:00PM (ET) — and also streamed LIVE here on The Violin Channel.

 

 

Anna Agafia Egholm (25, Denmark)

• Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor

Eva Rabchevska (24, Ukraine)

• Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major

 

A graduate of the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne and current Artist-in-Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, in Belgium, under violinist Augustin Dumay, Anna is a former major prize winner at the Ginette Neveu, Ysaÿe, Nielsen, and Tibor Varga International Violin Competitions.

A graduate of the Bratislava State Conservatory, in Slovakia, and current student of Zakhar Bron at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, in Madrid, Eva is a former major prize winner at the Carl Flesch and Karol Lipinski International Violin Competitions. She was also recently one of twelve finalists at the prestigious 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition.

 

SATURDAY JULY 24, 2021

2021 PRIZE-GIVING ANNOUNCEMENT & CEREMONY — LIVE FROM 12:00 PM (ET)

DIRECT FROM THE LIEDERHALLE BEETHOVEN HALL, IN STUTTGART

 

This 2021 first prize winner will receive €25,000, plus a number of important orchestral debut solo performances, including concerto engagements with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Symphoniker Hamburg, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Orchestra of the Symphoniker Nürnberg, the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz, the Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin and the Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra.

The winner will also be offered the three year loan of a 1746 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini fine violin, from the Guadagnini Foundation collection, to further assist with career development, if needed.

The second and third prize winners will receive €15,000 and €10,000, respectively.

 

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY JULY 21, 2021

SEMI-FINAL ROUND MORNING SESSION — LIVE FROM 4:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

 

For the semi-final stage, each candidate will perform a complete Beethoven Violin and Piano Sonata, a virtuosic showpiece and the newly-commissioned set work “APOPLEX”’ by Israeli composer Ohad Ben-Ari.

 

 

 

Alexander Won-Ho Kim (28, South Korea) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Wieniawski | Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Gounod's Faust

 

Gyehee Kim (27, South Korea) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Saint-Saëns | Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

 

Felicitas Schiffner (23, Germany) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor
• Waxman | Carmen Fantasy

 

Eva Rabchevska (24, Ukraine) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Tchaikovsky | Valse-Scherzo

 

 

WEDNESDAY JULY 21, 2021

SEMI-FINAL ROUND AFTERNOON SESSION — LIVE FROM 9:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

 

For the semi-final stage, each candidate will perform a complete Beethoven Violin and Piano Sonata, a virtuosic showpiece and the newly-commissioned set work “APOPLEX”’ by Israeli composer Ohad Ben-Ari.

 

 

Mayu Tomotaki (25, Japan) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor
• Tchaikovsky | Valse-Scherzo

 

Hana Chang (18, United States) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Tchaikovsky | Valse-Scherzo

 

Anna Agafia Egholm (25, Denmark) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Ravel | Tzigane

 

Victoria Wong (23, Australia) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Wieniawski | Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Gounod's Faust

 

Emma Meinrenken (22, Canada) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor
• Ohad Ben-Ari | APOPLEXY
• Ravel | Tzigane

 

 

MONDAY JULY 19, 2021

DAY 1 — OPENING ROUND MORNING SESSION — LIVE FROM 4:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

 

For the first round, each candidate will present two movements from a Bach Solo Sonata, Kreisler’s “Recitativo and Scherzo,” and Clara Schumann’s 1st Romance Op. 22 or Robert Schumann’s 2nd Romance Op. 94.

 

 

Hana Chang (18, United States) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

 

Clarissa Bevilacqua (19, United States) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in G minor | Grave & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

Oganes Arustamov (29, Russia) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mov 

 

Felicitas Schiffner (23, Germany) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major | Adagio & Fuga

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt 

 

Benjamin Günst (18, Germany) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major | Adagio & Fuga

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt 

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

MONDAY JULY 19, 2021

DAY 1 — OPENING ROUND AFTERNOON SESSION — LIVE FROM 9:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

 

For the first round, each candidate will present two movements from a Bach Solo Sonata, Kreisler’s “Recitativo and Scherzo,” and Clara Schumann’s 1st Romance Op. 22 or Robert Schumann’s 2nd Romance Op. 94.

 

 

Elli Choi (19, United States) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

 

Emma Meinrenken (22, Canada) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

Eva Rabchevska (24, Ukraine) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt 

 

Larissa Cidlinsky (26, Germany) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt 

 

Anna Göckel (29, France) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

Anna Agafia Egholm (25, Denmark) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

 

MONDAY JULY 19, 2021

DAY 1 — OPENING ROUND EVENING SESSION — LIVE FROM 12:15PM (ET)

LIVE FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

For the first round, each candidate will present two movements from a Bach Solo Sonata, Kreisler’s “Recitativo and Scherzo,” and Clara Schumann’s 1st Romance Op. 22 or Robert Schumann’s 2nd Romance Op. 94.

 

 

Victoria Wong (23, Australia) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

Ho-Hsuan Feng (26, Taiwan) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

 

Maxim Tzekov (20, Austria) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Clara Schumann | Romance |1st Mvt

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

DAY 2 — OPENING ROUND MORNING SESSION — LIVE FROM 4:00 AM (ET)

DIRECT FROM STUTTGART UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC (HMDK) CONCERT HALL

For the first round, each candidate will present two movements from a Bach Solo Sonata, Kreisler’s “Recitativo and Scherzo,” and Clara Schumann’s 1st Romance Op. 22 or Robert Schumann’s 2nd Romance Op. 94.

 

 

Gyehee Kim (27, South Korea) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

 

Yeyeong Jin (18, South Korea) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

 

Elias David Moncado (20, Germany) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

 

Mayu Tomotaki (25, Japan) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

 

Yunfei Bai (28, China) | Pianist: Thomas Hoppe

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor | Adagio & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

 

Alexander Won-Ho Kim (28, South Korea) | Pianist: Boris Kusnezow

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Clara Schumann | Romance | 1st Mvt

 

Charlotte Thiele (21, Germany) | Pianist: Alexander Sonderegger

• Bach | Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor | Grave & Fuga

• Kreisler | Recitativo and Scherzo

• Robert Schumann | Romance | 2nd Mvt

 

 

 

 

This year’s 21 candidates were selected from 266 high quality international applicants from 43 different countries. 

"The goal with the competition is to support young, highly talented string players on their way to an international career," Markus Klein, President from the Guadagnini Foundation has said.

"Our fundamental mission is to offer these 24 young violinists an ideal platform for a large-scale, high-performance competition so to help attract international attention for their careers through livestreams and digital networking." 

 

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