• Source: International Violin Competition Henri Marteau

The International Violin Competition Henri Marteau (German: Internationaler Violinwettbewerb Henri Marteau) is a violin competition named after the famous violinist and violin teacher Henri Marteau. It is open to violinists of all nationalities aged under 25 and takes place every three years at Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg, Bavaria and at Freiheitshalle in Hof, Bavaria, Germany.
The 7th International Violin Competition Henri Marteau, scheduled from April 26 to May 9, 2020, was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. The next competition is planned for 2023.




Foundation, sponsorship and cooperation


The 125th birthday of the German-French violinist and composer Henri Marteau in 1999 inspired "Freundeskreis Haus Marteau e.V." to initiate the competition and to hold it in 2002 and 2005. In 2007, the District of Upper Franconia under its president Günther Denzler took over the sponsorship. Since then, the artistic and general coordination has been conferred to the orchestra Hofer Symphoniker. The competition became a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 2012.




Idea and promotion


The goals of the competition are to encourage highly skilled young violinists aged under 25 on their way to an international career and to underline the importance of musical education for young people, and to enable the exchange between young talented musicians and renowned violinists and violin professors. The competition tries also to make the name and work of Henri Marteau better known.
The competition promotes young musicians by providing cash and non-cash awards and by providing a subsequent support program which includes scholarships, the procurement of concerts and a broadcast production with Bayerischer Rundfunk which is the media partner of the competition and an ideal platform for the performances of the young musicians through an intense media coverage.




Commissioned works


Since 2011, the competition commissions works as required pieces for the participants. So far, the following compositions were created:

for 2011: Fazıl Say, Cleopatra, Op. 34 for solo violin
for 2014: Steven Mackey, Repeated Notes for solo violin
for 2017: Søren Nils Eichberg, Improvisation über einen Gedanken aus dem Violinkonzert von Henri Marteau for solo violin
for 2020: Xiaogang Ye, Golden Hydrangea for solo violin




Admission: impartial jury


Among discussions about 'rigged' or unfair competitions, the International Violin Competition Henri Marteau has decided in 2017 to exclude current or former students of the jury members from participation: Students of the jury members are not eligible to participate. A student is someone who either received tuition from a jury member between October 2019 and April 2020 and/or prior to the competition for a period exceeding six months. Violinists who participate in a master class held by a jury member between January 2020 and April 2020 are not eligible to participate in the competition either.




Jury


Chairman of the jury and artistic advisor of the competition is the conductor Gilbert Varga, son of the famous Hungarian violinist Tibor Varga and from 1980 to 1985 chief conductor of Hofer Symphoniker. In 2020, these jury members were engaged:

Gilbert Varga, Hungary/Switzerland/UK, chairman
Benjamin Beilman, USA
Michael Frischenschlager, Austria
Erika Geldsetzer, Germany
Ilya Kaler, Russia/USA
Nam Yun Kim, South Korea
Natalia Lomeiko, Russia/UK/New Zealand
Silvia Marcovici, Romania/France
Kurt Sassmannshaus, Germany/USA
Ingolf Turban, Germany




Procedure


The International Violin Competition Henri Marteau opens with an opening concert performed by laureates of the former competitions at Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg.
The competition is split into three rounds. The participants play works for violin, soloistic, with piano accompaniment and in the final accompanied by orchestra. The first round and the semifinal take place at Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg. In the final, candidates play a great violin concerto together with the symphony orchestra Hofer Symphoniker at Freiheitshalle in Hof.
The competition closes with a celebratory gala concert of the laureates and Hofer Symphoniker at Freiheitshalle Hof.




Prizes


The prizes to be awarded have a total amount of €35,000 (~US$40,000): 1st prize €10,000, 2nd prize €7,500, 3rd prize €5,000. Additionally, there are numerous special prizes, also supplied with money (each €1,000), scholarships for master classes, the loan of a copy of the famous Maggini violin of Henri Marteau for three years, and a broadcast production with Bayerischer Rundfunk followed by a CD release.




Laureates


The first laureates of the former competitions were:

2023
1st prize: Hawijch Elders, Netherlands
2nd prize: Xunyue Zhang, China
3rd prize: Julian Walder, Austria
2017
1st prize: Lorenz Chen, Germany
2nd prize: Yukino Nakamura, Japan
3rd prize: Stepan Starikov, Russia
2014
1st prize: Fedor Rudin, France/Russia
2nd prize: Misako Akama, Japan
3rd prize: Minkyum Kim, South Korea
2011
1st prize: Tobias Feldmann, Germany
2nd prize: Edouard Mätzener, Switzerland
3rd prize: Ji Young Lim, South Korea
2008
1st prize: Andrei Baranov, Russia
2nd prize: Alexandra Conunova-Dumortier, Moldavia
3rd prize: Byol Kang, Germany
2005
Category A (born after December 31, 1987)

1st prize: Danae Papamatthäou-Matschke, Greece
2nd prize: Paula Sumane, Latvia
3rd prize: Sarah Christian, Germany
4th prize: Nizan Bartana, Israel
Category B (born between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1987)

1st prize: Stefan Tarara, Germany
2nd prize: Rebekka Hartmann, Germany
3rd prize: Sang-Mee Huh, South Korea
4th prize: Zsolt-Tihamer Visontay, Hungary
2002
Category A (born after December 31, 1984)

1st prize: Yuki Manuela Janke, Germany/Japan
2nd prize: Jung Yoon Yang, South Korea
3rd prize: Adam Banda, Hungary
Category B (born between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1984)

1st prize: Andreas Janke, Germany/Japan
2nd prize: Yoon Shin Song, South Korea
3rd prize: Lucja Madziar, Poland




Honorary Committee


Christoph Adt, president of Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg, artistic advisor of Internationale Musikbegegnungsstätte Haus Marteau
Ulrike Brett-Einsiedel, chairwoman of Freundeskreis Haus Marteau e.V.
Thomas Goppel, president of Bayerischer Musikrat
Heidrun Piwernetz, president of district government of Upper Franconia, chairwoman of board of trustees/Oberfrankenstiftung
Henry Schramm, president of district parliament of Upper Franconia
Bernd Sibler, Bavarian state minister for science and arts




External links


International Violin Competition Henri Marteau official website
International Violin Competition Henri Marteau official Facebook account
The competition on the website of the World Federation of International Music Competitions
Commissioned work 2011: Cleopatra, Op. 34 by Fazıl Say, published by Schott Music
Commissioned work 2014: Repeated Notes by Steven Mackey, published by Boosey & Hawkes
Commissioned work 2017: Improvisation über einen Gedanken aus dem Violinkonzert von Henri Marteau by Søren Nils Eichberg, published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• International Violin Competition Henri Marteau
• Henri Marteau
• List of classical music competitions
• World Federation of International Music Competitions
• Hofer Symphoniker
• Lichtenberg, Bavaria
• Lim Ji-young
• Igor Ozim
• Violin Concerto (Brahms)
• Hawijch Elders