site.btaViolinists from 11 Countries to Take Part in 1st Sofia Cantus Firmus International Violin Competition

The pre-selection process for the first Sofia Cantus Firmus International Violin Competition has been completed, Cantus Firmus said, adding that 17 violinists from Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, and Bulgaria have been selected. The selected participants range in age from 18 to 28.

The auditions will take place from May 9 to 11 at the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School Concert Hall in Sofia. In the first round, contestants will perform a sonata for violin by Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, or Claude Debussy; a virtuoso piece of their choice; and a work by Fritz Kreisler, commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of the Austrian violinist and composer.

The jury, composed of Prof. Mario Hossen, Prof. Michael Frischenschlager, Prof. Pavel Vernikov, Prof. Ruta Lipinaityte-Savickiene, and Prof. Philip Draganov, will select six candidates to advance to the semi-final round on May 10. Semi-finalists will perform one movement from a concerto for violin by Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Niccolo Paganini, J. Sibelius, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Henryk Wieniawski, Sergei Prokofiev, or Pancho Vladigerov. 

Following the jury’s vote, three finalists will be chosen to perform at a gala concert at Bulgaria Hall on May 11, accompanied by the Camerata Orphica NBU Orchestra under the baton of Christian Schulz. Finalists must present the first movement with cadenza of Mozart’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 3, No. 4, or No. 5, or Canticum for violin and orchestra, a piece specially composed for the competition by Georgi Arnaudov.

The final ranking will be decided during the concert, which is part of the programme of the 25th European Music Festival. The award ceremony will take place later in the evening.

Six young Bulgarian violinists aged 15 to 17 will participate in the Youth Group competition, which consists of a single live round on May 10. On May 8, they will attend a meeting and masterclass with members of the jury.

Due to illness, Bulgarian violinist Joanna Kamenarska will not participate on the jury as originally planned, the organizers said.