Outstanding performances at the 7th Hannover International Violin Competition: Six finalists selected

October 6, 2009. After the impressive performances given by twelve young violin virtuosi in the semifinal, the International Jury announced its verdict at the University of Music and Drama Hannover late this evening. The finalists are:

- Yusuke Hayashi (Japan)
- Clara-Jumi Kang (Germany/South Korea)
- Hyuk Joo Kwun (South Korea)
- Yura Lee (South Korea)
- Fumiaki Miura (Japan)
- Solenne Païdassi (France)

These, the six best among the competitors, will be playing in the Final on October 8 and 9, competing for the coveted placings which are endowed with cash prizes of €50,000, €30,000 and €20,000 respectively, and also carry with them the promise that debut concerts will be arranged. The First Prize Winner will in addition be rewarded with the making of a CD for the Naxos label, a photo session, the design of an artist's website and the use of a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin on loan from the Fritz Behrens Foundation. The two concerts of the final round, with the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Milton, will take place at the NDR State Broadcasting House, each beginning at 8 p.m.

Tomorrow evening, October 7, those semifinalists who have been eliminated, together with other competition participants, will be able to bid farewell to the competition audiences in Cuxhaven, Emden, Friesoythe, Göttingen, Neuenkirchen, Osnabrück, Verden and Wolfenbüttel with the series of concerts entitled ›The Competition in the Countryside‹, at which they will again appear in the top form they have worked themselves up into for the Hannover International Violin Competition. Tickets are available from the organizers at the respective venues.

The Hannover International Violin Competition – dedicated to Joseph Joachim – was founded in 1991 and is presented every three years by the Stiftung Niedersachsen and its partners. The Competition, which is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, Geneva, continues until October 10, 2009.

Recent press photos of the finalists at www.violin-competition.de. Press queries can be directed to Anke Schauer on +49 (0)511 - 9905418 or by email to schauer@violin-competition.de.