The Paganini International Violin Competition was founded in 1954 with the goal of creating a violin competition with an international scope. It has quickly established itself as one of the most important violin competitions in the world. In 2004, on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Paganini Competition, the City of Genoa approved the resolution on the Competition becoming biennial (it had been an annual event until 2002) in order to fortify the event and give it even greater significance in the world of violin competition. The last (53rd) competition was held from 15 to 26 September 2010. No first Prize was assigned. 21 year old Ms. Dami Kim from South Korea won the 2nd Prize. The next (54th) Competition will be held from 15 to 30 September 2012.

The Henryk Wieniawski Music Society initiated this competition in 1935 in Warsaw and held every five years thereafter. The competition was moved to Poznań. in 1952. First prize winners included David Ojstrach (Former Soviet Union) and Ginette Neveu (France). The last (14th) competition has been conducted from 8 to 23 October 2011. Ms. So-Young Yoon, 27, from South Korea won the first prize. The next Competition will be held in 2016.

The Competition founded by Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud in 1943. Since then it has become one of the most prestigious competitions in the world. It takes once every 3 years in Paris, France. The last Competition was held 5~15 November 2010. The 25 year old French violinist, Ms. Solenne Paidassi, won the First Prize. The next edition will be held in November 2013.

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The ARD International Music Competition is the biggest international competition in Germany for classical music. It takes place once each year in Munich, Germany. The first ARD International Music Competition took place in 1952. One The of the uniquenesses of the competition is that the categories alter from year to year to include, solo instruments, as well as voice and chamber ensembles. The violin competitions were included in 18 times. The last violin competition was completed on September 18, 2009. The first prize went to the only 17-year old Korean musician Hyeyoon Park. The next violin competition will be held in 2013.

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The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis was founded in 1982 under the artistic leadership of Josef Gingold to discover major violin talent and nurture those identified. Every four years since then, musicians and music lovers from all parts of the globe have focused their attention on "The Indianapolis." It has quickly established itself as one of the most respected music competitions in the world. The last competition has been held from 10 to 26 September 2010. 23 year old Ms. Clara-Jumi Kang from Germany/South Korea won the First Prize and Gold Medal. The next competition will be held in September 2014.

The Prague Spring International Music Festival is a permanent showcase for outstanding performing artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles of the world. The first festival was held in 1946. The Prague Spring Competition was established just one year after the festival itself, and is held each year in various instrumental sections. Violin competitions were held in 1947, 49, 56, 64, 72, 76, 87, 92, 97 and 2003. The last violin competition was held at the 65th Festival May 7-15, 2010. Ms Marianna Vasiliyeva from Russia won the First Prize. The Festival will not arrange violin competition until 2014.

The Competition, dedicated to Joseph Joachim, also called Joachim Violin Competition, was presented for the first time in 1991. Since then, It has been held once every 3 years and has grown to become a comprehensive music program for both competitors and audiences. Its aim is to encourage young musicians on their paths to international careers and to confirm the tradition of classical music, its educational merits and the value of its presence in our lives. The last competition was organized from 27 September to 10 October 2009. The first prize winner is the 1993 born Mr. Fumiaki Miura. The next competition will be held from 30 September to 13 October 2012.

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The Montreal International Musical Competition (MIMC) was founded in 2002. The Competition aims to discover, reward and assist young singers, violinists and pianists who distinguish themselves through the mastery of their art. The Violin Competition takes place once in 3 or 4 years. The first edition was held in 2003 and the First Prize winner was Mr. Yossif Ivanov from Belgium. The last (3rd) Competition was held from May 24 to June 4, 2010. Mr. Benjamin Beilman from the United States won the First Prize

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The International Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition, the most important Austrian violin competition, started from 1979 and is dedicated to the memory of Fritz Kreisler, the most important Austrian violinist of the 20th century. The competition is organized in Vienna every 4 years in the second half of September. The last (7th) competition took place from September 13 to 21, 2010. The age limit was 30. Three Russian violinists won the First, Second and Third Prizes. They are 25 year old Mr. Nikita Borisoglebsky, 25 year old Ms. Ekaterina Frolova and 23 year old Mr. Aylen Pritchin. The next competition will be held in September, 2014.

The Johann Sebastian Bach Competition is regarded as one of the major international competitions for young artists. The competition took place for the first time in 1950 and was held every four years from 1964 to 1996 with five subjects and is now held every two years with three changing subjects. It means that the violin competition is held once in at least 4 years. The age limit is between 16 and 32. The instruments can be either violin or baroque violin. It expects participants to be of a very high standard. They should have a confident stage manner and be experienced at performing the historical style required in the Competition program. Rehearsal for the Competition program should always take place using editions based on the original manuscript. The last violin competition took place from 7 to 17 July 2010, and Mr. Evgeny Sviridov from Russian won the First Prize.

Dedicated to Carl Flesch, one of the greatest violin teachers in the history, who died in 1944, the first Carl Flesch Violin Competition was organized in 1945. In the late '60s the competition was substantially furthered and advanced to become worldwide one of the most important contests of its kind. The competition had been held annually from 1945 until 1966 and then took place biennially. After 1992, the City of London Festival unexpectedly decided not to continue with any of its competitions. The last (11th) Competition was decided to be held in Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary 8-15 June, 2008, as part of The 43rd Budapest International Music Competition. Thirty eight violinists attended it and Mr. E Kallai from Hungary won the First Prize.

The UK, despite its leading position in classical music, had not had a major violin competition for more than 10 years. The Britten competition was created to rectify that position. The 2nd competition, for violinists, took place from 13 to 22 April, 2008 and Mr. Andrey Baranov from Russia won the First Prize. The 3rd Competition will be held in 2011.

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Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition, dedicated to Mazart’s father, Leopold Mozart, started its 1st competition in 1987. Since then the competition has been held once in every 4 or 3 years. The last competition was held from 13 to 24 May 2009. Ms Jehye LEE from Korea won the First Prize. The next (8th) competition will be held from 17 to 28 April 2013.

In memory of Hungarian violinist Jozsef Szigeti, the competition is organized once every 5 years. The last one was held from 3 to 14 September 2007 as a part of The 42nd Budapest International Music Competition. The age limit was 32 and 36 contestants from 13 countries participated the Competition. Adam BANDA (Hungary) and Lev SOLODOVNIKOV (Russia) shared the First Prize and no Second Prize declared. The next competition will be taking place in September 2012.

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Dedicated to Romanian violinist George Enescu, the competition is organized in Bucharest, Romania once every 2 years. The subjects include violin, piano, cello and composition. The last violin competition was completed on September 10, 2011. The first prize was not assigned. The 2nd and 3rd Prize winners are Kayayzan Haik (Armenia/Russia) and Conunova Alexandra (Republic of Moldova), ex aequo. The next competition will be held in September 2013.

The Pablo Sarasate International Violin Competition is a program in honor of the great violinist from Pamplona, Spain. It is held in every 2 years. The last (11th) edition was held from 14 to 21 September 2009. The 26 year old violinist from Spain, Ms. Ana Maria Valderrama, won the First prize. The next (12th) competition will be held in September 2013.

The Competition takes place in New Zealand once every 2 years. The first edition was held in 2001. The aim of the Competition is to recognize and encourage excellence and musical artistry, to expand performance opportunities and to promote young (18 - 30 ) violinists from all over the world who are on the brink of launching their professional solo careers and are aspiring to establish themselves on the world stage. The 6th Competition took place 3-11 June 2011 and the 28 year old violinist, Mr. Sergey Malov, from Russia won the First Prize. The next Competition will be held in June 2013.

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This competition was established according the suggestion of violinist, Alberto Curci (born in Naples, 1886—1973). The First Competition was held in November 1967. Now it takes place in Naples, Italy biennially. The 15th edition was held from 30 October to 7 November 2008. Mr. Sergey Pospelov from Russia was the First Prize winner. The 16th competition has been re-arranged and will take place from 9 to 19, November 2011.

This competition was created in 1967 and Tibor Varga (1921 - 2003), violinist, conductor and pedagogue of world-wide renown was the founder. The Competition is open to violinists of all nationalities from 15 to 32 years of age with the purpose to to help discover new talent, to enrich the musical experience and competence of the participants and to encourage and support prize-winners in their future careers. From 1967 to 2008, the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition had taken place annually without any interruption. Since 2008, the competition has taken place each two years. The 43rd Competition was held 25 July - 3 August 2010. No first Prize was assigned. 2nd Prize ex aequo: Ms Alexandra COUNUNOVA from Moldova and Ms Vladyslava LUCHENKO from Ukraine. Mr. Stefan TARARA from Germany won the third Prize. The 44th Competition will be held in 2012.

The Menuhin Competition, founded by Yehudi Menuhin in England in 1983, is one of the few international violin competitions for young musicians under the age of 22. It is open to participants of all nationalities and comprises two age groups: Juniors (up to 15) and Seniors (16 to 21).The last competition was held in Oslo, Norway from 18 to 25 April 2010. Mr. Kerson Leong, born on February 26, 1997, from Canada and Mr. Xiang Yu, born on October 27, 1988 from China won the Junior First Prize and the Senior First Prize, respectively. The next competition is scheduled to take place in Beijing, the Chinese capital from 6 to 15 April 2012. It will be the first time ever outside Europe to organize the Competition.

The International Competition for Young Violinists in Honour of Karol Lipinski and Henry Wieniawski is a regular event which is organized every three years. The Competition was divided into two age groups: the junior group (under 17) and the senior group (under 25). Five prizes are provided for each group. The last (11th) Competition was held from 17 to 24 September, 2009. Ms. Marianna Vasilyeva from Russia won the First Prize of the senior group and Ms. Mindy Chen from USA and Ms. Mone Hattori from Japan tied for the First Place. The next Competition will be held in 2012.

International Violin Competition “Città di Brescia” was created for memory of Italian violinist, Romano Romanini. Since the first edition of the competition in 1979, it has been held once every 2 or 3 years in the city of Brescia, Italy. The last (12th) edition was held from the 21 to 30 of October, 2010. 26 year old Japanese violinist Mr. Yusuke Hayashi won the First Prize. The 13th edition will take place October, 2013.