SHANGHAI, Aug. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The success of the
2016 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, organized by Shanghai
Symphony Orchestra, received worldwide coverage, and, for the
first time, demonstrated that a Chinese music competition is just
as sophisticated as any other at the global level. The Organisation
Committee held a press conference on August
8, 2018 to announce that the second edition of the
competition would take place from
then until September 1 in
Shanghai. In addition, there was
also a draw for the order of the quarter finalists.
Stellar Judging Panel
The Jury Committee has been expanded from thirteen to fifteen
members, and features a star-studded lineup of pedagogues,
violinists, and industry leaders to fairly evaluate the contestants
in a variety of ways including technique, interpretation, and
performance.
The jury – co-chaired by conductor David
Stern, son of Isaac Stern,
and Professor Vera Tsu
Weiling, who has sat on the
judging panels of many leading international violin competitions –
is comprised of internationally-acclaimed violinists Maxim Vengerov
and Augustin Dumay; leading figures
of China's violin industry
Lina Yu and Siqing Lu; the founding member and first
violinist of Shanghai Quartet, Weigang
Li; the founding member of Emerson Quartet, Philip Setzer; the former concertmaster of the
New York Philharmonic, Glenn
Dicterow; and concertmaster of Munich Philharmonic Sreten
Krstic. The jury also includes world-renowned pedagogues
Zakhar Bron, Dora Schwarzberg, and Daniel Heifetz; and two industry veterans, the
founding member of the classical artists management company Askonas
Holt, Martin Campbell-White, and the
current programming director of Philharmonie de Paris, Emmanuel Hondré.
Renowned Collaborative Musicians to Help Improve Musical
Quality
The repertoire of this edition provides a greater focus on
interpreting and understanding the musical spirit rather than
merely technique, aiming to evolve the candidates from 'soloists'
to 'musicians.'
Additionally, the works include more diversified music styles
and forms of performances. Each contestant will perform four sets
of works during the Quarter-Finals. Then, for comprehensive
assessment, the Semi-Finals will include even more diversified
repertoire and consist of three sections – the string quartet in
which contestants will perform with Yi-Wen
Jiang, Honggang Li, and
Nicholas Tzavaras from the Shanghai
Quartet; sonatas and Kreisler's works, in which contestants will collaborate with
invited young pianists Zhen Chen,
Yingjia Xue, and Qiuning Huang; and
a Mozart Concerto with an originally-composed cadenza. In addition
to including a concerto of choice, which is conventional in
competitions, the Final Round will include the violin concerto,
La Joie de la Souffrance, by
the renowned Chinese composer Qigang
Chen, which was commissioned by SISIVC, among others. The
piece will be conducted by David
Stern, Music Director of Kansas City Symphony Orchestra and
son of Isaac Stern.
Quarter-Finalist Order is Set, Contestants Getting
Ready
Starting from the announcement of this edition's competition on
September 9, 2017 until the
application deadline on January 31,
2018, the number of applicants increased by a large margin
compared to the first edition. Over 90% of the applicants have won
prizes from top-level competitions and more than half are students
or graduates from international top-class music schools.
Twenty-seven contestants from eleven countries and regions will
participate in the Quarter-Finals.
It is widely agreed that the first edition of the Competition established extensive awareness
and influence on the classical music world for its professional
competition system, prominent judges, fair selection, innovative
schedule, outstanding contestants, and distinctive features, which
laid the foundation for this
edition.
The 2018 competition will once again seek nominations for the
Isaac Stern Award – Human Spirit
Award, which provides recognition to any individual from around
the world who has made an outstanding contribution to humanity
through the medium of music.
From Competition to a Professional Career on Bigger
Stages
Besides the USD $100,000 prize
presented to the champion, the largest music monetary prize of any
music competition in the world, the Competition puts great effort
on helping soloists become musicians over the long term on their
road to professional musicianship. The Competition also introduces
the winners to world-class agencies, recording opportunities, and
facilitates collaborations with top-level national and
international orchestras such as the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra,
China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, and
Sydney Symphony, in order to open the door to a professional career
and to provide them a bigger stage.
New Commission for the Final Round to Promote Chinese
Music
This year's competition will continue the tradition of spreading
Chinese music, working together with China Pacific Insurance, the
principal sponsor of the Stern Competition. La Joie de la Souffrance violin concerto by
renowned Chinese composer Qigang
Chen is a required work for the final round. It was
specially planned by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and is
co-commissioned by Beijing Music Festival, Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and New
Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
According to Chen, this work embraces both eastern and western
cultures, dives in-depth into the meaning of life, and poses a
great challenge to the performer's ability to analyze and
understand the music. By tapping into the global influence of the
Competition, Chinese works such as this one have a chance to reach
a wider audience - faster. Including a commission by a Chinese
composer also embodies the concept of Chinese music as a more
effective approach to communicating the Chinese culture with the
rest of the world – the idea proposed by Long Yu, President of the Organization
Committee, during the initial stages of the establishment of the
competition.
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SOURCE Shanghai Symphony Orchestra