Hannover audiences are in for a thrilling final round of the 1997 International Violin Competition. In a sold-out concert hall, Richard Jakoby, Chairman of the competition jury, announced the six candidates who will be performing in the finals this Thursday and Friday. They are:
- Bin Huang (*1971 in Hunan, lives in Baltimore, USA)
- Reiko Otani (*1972 in Osaka, lives in Brussels)
- Francesco Manara (*1969 in Turin, lives in Milan)
- Felicia Terpitz (*1971 in Bonn, lives in Germany)
- Anton Sorokow (*1978 in Moscow, lives in Vienna)
- Michiko Kamiya (*1973 in Nagoya, lives in London and Nagoya)
The six semi-finalists who will not be going on to the finals all receive a 2,000 Mark scholarship from the Foundation of Lower Saxony. These young musicians will also be giving debut recitals in Duderstadt, Emden, Osnabrück and Wolfenbüttel on October 15th in the »Competition in the Countryside« program.
The competition now moves, as is tradition, from the Hannover Academy of Music and Theater Arts to the Lower Saxony Broadcasting Center of the North German Broadcasting Corporation. For the finals, the young musicians will be playing one of the great violin concertos.
The works to be heard are Johannes Brahms' concerto for violin and orchestra opus 77 and the violin concerto opus 47 by Jean Sibelius. Each concerto will be presented by three finalists. They will be accompanied by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hannover. Conductor is János Fürst from London, who has just accepted the chair in conducting at the Paris Conservatory.
On the two days of the finals, the jury must decide on the very best among the performers. The result will be announced late on October 17th in the NDR Concert Hall. All six of the finalists are already winners of the competition, as the Foundation of Lower Saxony is awarding a total of over 140,000 Marks, making this competition the largest of its kind.
On the last two days of the competition, two symposiums will take place at the Hannover Academy of Music and Theater Arts. On Thursday, October 16th, audiences will have the opportunity to find out more about the most famous violin-makers of all time, Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. Dietmar Machold will be speaking at 11 a.m. On Friday at 11 a.m., Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Hermann Krebbers will hold an open discussion of their work as music teachers.
The Hannover International Violin Competition's grand finale, a gala concert, takes place on October 18th at the NDR Concert Hall. All six prize-winners will perform, and the first prize-winner will play his winning concerto again.
Tickets for the finals and the gala concerts are available at Laporte Tickets in Hannover (+49 (5 11) 32 92 22). The finals and the gala concert will be broadcasted live on Radio 3 three consecutive evenings.