The Japanese violinist Michiko Kamiya, 24 years old, has been awarded the First Prize at the 1997 Hannover International Violin Competition. Professor Richard Jakoby, chairman of the international jury, announced all six prizes late last night to the enthusiastic audience at the North German Broadcasting Corporation's (NDR) concert hall in Hannover. Michiko Kamiya, who was born in Nagoya and lives there and in London, performed Sibelius' concerto op. 47 to win the competition.
The second prize went to Francesco Manara from Turin. The young artist who is Concert Master and Soloist of the Scala Theater and Philharmonic Orchestra in Milan, performed the Sibelius concerto op. 47 and takes home a cash award of 30,000 German Marks. Bin Huang (26 years old, born in China, lives in Baltimore, USA) who also played the Sibelius concerto in the finals, was chosen by the jury for the third prize; her award amounts to 20,000 Marks.
Fourth, fifth and sixth prizes went to Reiko Otani (24 years old, born in Japan and lives in Brussels, playing Brahms' concerto), Anton Sorokow (19 years old, born in Moscow and lives in Vienna, playing Brahms) and Felicia Terpitz (26 years old, from Bonn, who also performed Brahms' concerto op. 77).
The First Prize award is 50,000 German Marks (about $ 30,000) and additional significant support of the young winner on her path to an international solo career. She will receive a recording contract with NAXOS, debut concerts with over 40 orchestras and ensembles world-wide and two years of professional guidance from the Hans Ulrich Schmid agency in Hannover.
The two-day finals in the sold-out NDR concert hall were the exciting climax of the 1997 Hannover International Violin Competition. The eleven members of the jury spent a total of eleven demanding days in the concert halls of the Hannover Academy of Music and Theater Arts and the NDR to pick the winners. Now they can relax and enjoy the gala finale -- the last day of the competition is purely for the audience's enjoyment.
The Gala Prizewinners' Concert takes place tonight (October 18th), starting at 7:30 p.m. in the NDR concert hall. The six prize winners will be playing pieces performed during the competition. The First Prize Winner will be accompanied -- as she was during the competition -- by the Radio Philharmonic of Hannover, conducted by János Fürst.
The Hannover International Violin Competition is dedicated to the violinist Joseph Joachim (1831--1907) who was concertmaster in Hannover for fifteen years. 39 young violinists, aged 16 to 28, took part in the competition, at which 14 nationalities were represented.
The Foundation of Lower Saxony (Stiftung Niedersachsen) presents the competition in the capital city of Lower Saxony every three years. Its goal is to give concrete support to young violinists in the further advancement of their careers on the concert podium. The Hannover International Violin Competition is the largest of its kind world-wide.