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 (52nd) competition was completed on 5 October 2008. Ms. Stephanie JEONG (21) from USA won the Second Prize (First Prize not assigned). The next (53rd) Competition will be held from late September to early October, 2010.

Official Website:

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. Past First Prize winners included David Ojstrach (Former Soviet Union) and Ginette Neveu (France). The last competition has been conducted in October, 2006. It was open to violinists of all nationalities up to the age of 30. Agata Szymczewska from Poland won the First Prize. The next Competition will be held 8-23 October 2011.

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 7~17 November 2008. The 21 year old Korean violinist, Ms. Hyun-Su Shin, won the First Prize. The next edition will be held in 2011.

Official Website:

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 17 times. The last one is in 2005 and the Japanese violinist, Keisuke Okazaki, is the First Prize winner. The next violin competition will be in September 2009. After that, there will be no violin competition until 2013.

Official Website:

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. Next violin competition has been planned in the Festival May, 2010.

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 29 September to 4 October 2006. The First Prize winner is Ms. Suyoen Kim. The next competition will be held from 27 September to 10 October 2009.

Official Website:

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 second violin Competition took place in 2006 and Ms. Jinjoo Cho from South Korea won the First Prize. The next Competition will be held from May 24 to June 4, 2010. Age limit: 29 or less on January 1, 2010. Application deadline: January 8. 2010.

Official Website:

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 competition took place in 2005. The age limit was 30. Ms. Fanny Clamagirand from France won the First prize. The next competition will be held in 2009.

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 4 or 6 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. The last violin competition took place in 2006, and Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir from Island 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 first competition, for violinists, took place in 2004 and Ms. Simone Lamsma from Holland won the First Prize. 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 2010.

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 17 to 28 May 2006 with 48 participants. The competition included 4 rounds and the final repertoire was one violin concerto from Mozart’s concertos. Yura Lee from Korea won the First Prize. The next (7th) competition will be held from 13th to 24th of May 2009.

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.

Dedicated to Romanian violinist George Enescu, the competition is organized in Bucharest, Romania once every 2 years. The subjects include violin, piano and composition. The last violin competition was held from 2 to 9 September 2007. The age limit was 33. Forty-four young violinists from 20 countries participated the Competition and Anna TIFU (Italy) was the First Prize winner. The next competition will be held in September 2009.

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 edition was held from September 14 to 21, 2007 and Yuki Manuela Janke (Germany) won the First Prize. The next (10th) competition will be held from 13 to 19 September, 2009. Age limit: 15 to 27 years old on the starting day of the competition. Application deadline: The documentation for the application can be sent from 2nd March to 5th May 2009 and received not later than 15th May 2009.

This competition is for memory of German violinist, Ludwig Spohr. The competition has been taking place in Germany once every 3 years. The 10th edition was held in Freiburg, 20--27 August 2006. It was open to violinists of all nationalities from 16 up to 32 years of age. The next competition will be organized in August 2009.

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 4th Competition took place in June 2007 and the 21 year old violinist, Ms. Bella Hristova, from Bulgaria won the First Prize. The next Competition will be held in Auckland and Queenstown, New Zealand from 4 to 11, June 2009.

Official Website:

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 will take place in November 2010.

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. The 42nd Competition was held 13 - 21 July 2008. The First Prize winner was Mr. Ilian GARNET from Moldova. Although the Competition has taken place annually without any interruption since it was created, the 43rd Competition will be held in the summer of 2010.

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 Cardiff in Wales in the United Kingdom from 11 to 20 April 2008. Mr. Chad Hoopes, born on June 7, 1994, from America and Mr. Ray Chen, born on March 6, 1989 from Australia won the Junior First Prize and the Senior First Prize, respectively. The next competition is scheduled to take place in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, from 16 to 25 April 2010. Information about application requirements and repertoire will be available in April 2009.

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 10th Competition was held in September 2006 and Yumi Arata from Japan and Esther Yoo from the US won the first Prize of the Junior Group, Ui Young Hongfrom Korea and A Sorokov from Austria won the first Prize of the Sunior Group. The 11th Competition will be held from 17 to 24 September, 2009. The application deadline is 15 February 2009.