Maria Ioudenitch wins in Sion
The Tibor Varga 2021 International Violin Competition came to an end on September 4. The 25-year-old American Maria Ioudenitch came out on top against Tassilo Probst (19, Germany) and Lorenz Karls (20, Sweden), who won second and third prize respectively. The new youth jury also awarded her a prize.
A total of 25 young violinists under the age of 26 took part in the competition, which this year saw a record participation (124 registrations) with an increase of 32 % compared to the 2019 edition. "It was difficult for us to make a selection, as the level of all candidates was very high," commented jury chairman Salvatore Accardo (Italy). "After the Covid-related restrictions, these young people all had a great desire and need to play in front of an audience, and you could feel it in their playing".
As a result of this exceptional level, the competition management gave the jury the opportunity to exceptionally award three fourth prizes at the end of the second round: they went to Ava Bahari (24 years old, Sweden), Seira Horiuchi (25 years old, Japan) and Arthur Traelnes (18 years old, Switzerland).
Maria Ioudenitch received both the Audience Prize and the Youth Jury Prize, while Lorenz Karls was also recognized for his interpretation of the compulsory piece Stilleven a work for solo violin commissioned by the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition for Michel Petrossian, which was premiered by all the candidates in the first round.
The younger generation of musicians also had their say: a youth jury consisting of five students from the Conservatory of the Canton of Valais took part in the final of the competition to award their prize. They were accompanied by Ewa Demaugé-Bost, violin teacher at the conservatory.
