Fumiaki Miura from Japan wins First Prize at the Hannover International Violin Competition

October 9, 2009. As the participants of the Hannover International Violin Competition look back over some exciting and exhausting weeks at the Competition, the name of the First Prize Winner was announced late this evening after a breathtaking Final: Fumiaki Miura from Japan has now joined the top rank of international string players. He won over the International Jury of eleven distinguished musicians with a performance of the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, by Peter I. Tchaikovsky. The 16 years old Japanese studying in Vienna will benefit from a wide range of awards, including a cash prize of €50,000, the organization of debut concerts and recitals with orchestras and ensembles of international standing, a Naxos CD production for worldwide distribution, a photo session, the design of an artist's website and a the use of violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (Parma, ca. 1765), on loan for three years from the Fritz Behrens Foundation.

The delighted Second Prize Winner is the German-Korean Clara-Jumi Kang. She will receive a cash prize of €30,000. Yura Lee from South Korea was awarded the Third Prize of €20,000. The three unplaced laureates, Yusuke Hayashi (Japan), Hyuk Joo Kwun (South Korea) and Solenne Païdassi (France), will each be awarded €8,000. The other semifinalists will receive €1,000 each.

In recognition of their outstanding achievements, all six Prize Winners will receive a sculpture of a violinist specially created for the Stiftung Niedersachsen's 2009 Hannover International Violin Competition by the Lower Saxony artist Sebastian Peetz.

For the first time in the history of the competition, a Music Critics‘ Jury composed of distinguished journalists is awarding a prize to the tune of €5,000, which goes to the First Prize Winner Fumiaki Miura. Those members of the audience who attended both the final concerts also had a vote. The Winner of the Audience Prize valued at €5,000 will be announced tomorrow in the course of the Prize Winners‘ Gala Concert.

Tomorrow, October 10, all six Prize Winners will be performing for one last splendid time at the Prize Winners' Gala Concert. Starting at 7.30 p.m., they will present selected compositions from the competition repertoire, the honor of playing a major violin concerto with the orchestra being reserved for the winner of the First Prize. The prizes will be officially presented by the President of the Stiftung Niedersachsen, Dr Dietrich H. Hoppenstedt, in the presence of the Federal Minister Dr Ursula van der Leyen. The gala concert at the NDR State Broadcasting House will be broadcast both on the internet by live streaming at www.ndr.de/kultur/musik/ violinwettbewerb100.html.de and also live on the NDR Kultur radio channel, starting at 8 p.m.

The Secretary General of the Stiftung Niedersachsen, Joachim Werren, is enthusiastic: ›I guess, Fumiaki Miura will be the violinist discovery of the year.‹ Looking back over the past two weeks of the competition, the Artistic Director Professor Krzysztof Wegrzyn, who also acted as Chairman of the International Jury, said: ›The artistic level of performance in the entire field was higher than ever. Their stage presence, enthusiasm, insight and maturity has touched the hearts of everyone here.‹

The Hannover International Violin Competition – dedicated to Joseph Joachim – was founded in 1991 and is presented every three years by the Stiftung Niedersachsen in cooperation with the University of Music and Drama Hannover, the NDR (North German Broadcasting) and the Staatsoper Hannover. The Hannover International Violin Competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, Geneva. The next Competition will take place in the fall of 2012.

Recent press photos of the Prize Winners can be downloaded from www.violin-competition.de. Press queries can be directed to Anke Schauer on +49 (0)511 - 990 54 18 or by email to schauer@violin-competition.de.