Winners Announced at 2023 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition

14-year-old Seohyun Kim won first prize and CHF 20’000

The two-part final round of the International Tibor Varga Violin Competition drew to a close this weekend in Sion, Switzerland. Streamed live on The Violin Channel, the competition saw three finalists perform with the Lithuanian Chambre Orchestra and conductor Sergej Krylov.

The youngest candidate, Seohyun Kim (14 years old, South Korea), won this year's first prize, while Raphael Nussbaumer (17 years old, Switzerland) and Rennosuke Fukuda (23 years old, Japan), were awarded the Second and Third Prizes respectively.

Seohyun Kim also won the Youth Jury Prize, while the Audience Prize and the "Over-20s" Jury Prize were awarded to Raphael Nussbaumer.

Seohyun Kim and Rennosuke Fukuda, as well as Mahiro Kurasawa, were selected for their best performance of the commissioned work Macerie (Wreckage) by Silvia Colasanti, which was performed as a world premiere by all the candidates in the 1st round.

The 2023 jury comprises Augustin Dumay (President), James Brown, Mihaela Martin, Natsumi Tamai, Ingolf Turban, Pavel Vernikov, Silvia Colasanti, Ashley Wass, Stella Chen, and Alexander Chaushian.

"I am delighted with the wonderful musical discoveries we were able to make," said Augustin Dumay. "Today, a very high technical level is assured in all competitions. We find a lot of violin athletes, but few real musical personalities who have a story to tell and make us dream. Here, we have unearthed some long-lasting treasures that make us want to listen to them later."

A total of 24 young violinists under the age of 26 took part in the Competition, which recorded a new peak in entries.

"This year's competition was of an exceptional artistic level, with a wealth of singular and engaging personalities," adds Olivier Vocat, President of the Sion Violon Musique Foundation. "The great musical maturity of the candidates, some of them very young, was a source of admiring amazement. We are also delighted that these wonderful violinists were applauded by the large audience."