Winners Announced at Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition

Violinists Lois Muntean, Tareq Matar, and Katharina Strepp were named the first prize winners in their respective age groups

More than 30 violinists competed for the 2022 Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition, that was held in Kloster Schöntal (Baden-Württemberg), Germany, from August 27 – September 4, 2022. As the official media partner of the competition, The Violin Channel hosted all rounds live, which are available for playback here.

In the final live round, candidates performed a violin concerto in front of an international jury of experts, including Cristina Goicea, Rebekka Hartmann, Axel Strauss, Michael Veimann, and Florian Leonhard. The Jury President is the competition's founder Prof. Petru Munteanu.

The competition was split up into three age categories: up to 14-years-old, 15 to 17-years-old, and 18 to 21-years-old. The winners in each category include:

First Age Group (Up to 14-years-old):

• 1st prize: Lois Muntean - Romania
• 2nd prize:  Philipp Chernomor - Germany, Yu Wa Ocean Chow - Hong Kong, Mathilda Dendorfer - Germany
• 3rd prize: Amina Akhmetzhanova - Kazakhstan
• Special prize “Baroque”: Lois Muntean - Romania
• Special prize "Sonata": Mathilda Dendorfer - Germany
• Special prize "Virtuoso": Philipp Chernomor - Germany
• Special prize "Gewa violin case": Lois Muntean - Romania

Second Age Group (15 to 17-years-old):

• 1st prize: Tareq Matar - Germany
• 2nd prize: Moe Dierstein - Germany
• 3rd prize: Isabelle Raviol - Germany
• 4th Prize: Tokuji Miyasaka - USA
• Sponsorship awards as a finalist: Ryota Nakamura - Japan, Anne Sophie Luong - Germany
• Special prize "Bach": Tareq Matar - Germany
• Special prize "Sonata": Moe Dierstein - Germany
• Special prize "Virtuoso": Tokuji Miyasaka - USA
• Special prize "Gewa violin case": Tareq Matar - Germany
• Special prize "Masuratini" violin case": Moe Dierstein - Germany

Third Age Group (18 to 21-years-old):

• 1st prize: Katharina Strepp - Germany
• 2nd prize: Sara Ispas - Australia
• 3rd prize: Pijus Cesaitis- Lithuania
• 4th prize: Aijia Li - PR China
• 5th Prize: Ashley Tsai - Canada, Elena Meyer - Germany
• Special Prize "Bach": Sara Ispas - Australia
• Special prize "Sonata": Pijus Cesaitis - Lithuania
• Special prize "Virtuoso": Katharina Strepp - Germany
• Special prize "Gewa violin case":Katharina Strepp - Germany
• Special Prize "Masuratini Violin Case": Sara Ispas - Australia

Special Prizes not linked to any age group:

• Special prize "Italian VIOLIN" from the Leonhard company, London: Katharina Strepp - Germany
• Reinhold Würth Advancement Award: Sara Ispas - Australia
• Special prize Colla Parte(for chamber music performance), donated by Prof. Dr. Viorica Radoi: Pijus Cesaitis - Lithuania

Florian Leonhard's special prize will provide an exclusive violin on loan for 2 years to Katharina Strepp. In addition, the Reinhold Würth Promotion Prize for further education in music, given to Sara Ispas, is worth € 5000 and an appearance as a soloist with the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra.

The patron of the competition, Prof. Dr. Reinhold Würth, together with the Würth Group and the Würth Foundation, supported the competition financially and offered some of the prize money. Further cash prizes were awarded on behalf of the company ebm-papst Mulfingen and Sparkasse Hohenlohekreis. Material prizes were donated by the companies GEWA, Masuratini, and Paganino. In total, cash and non-cash prizes of over 30,000 EUR were distributed.

Previous major prize winners include VC Artists InMo Yang, Sarah Christian, Yury Revich, Igor Pikayzen, Alexander Conunova, Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, Rennosuke Fukuda, Ziyu He, and Ioana Christina Goicea.