Violin contest

Press, 7 March 1984, Page 14

Violin contest

New Zealand violinists are eligible for a Belgian music competition to be held next year. The Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Violin will be held in May and June in Brussels.

The competition is open to all musicians, aged between 17 and 32 years on January 15, 1985. The prizes, totalling approximately $NZ43,000 will be divided among the 12 prize winners. The 12 contestants of the second stage test not admitted to the final test will receive a sum of approximately SNZ4OO. The competition consists of two tests: preliminary eliminating tests and a final test. For the first stage, the competitor has to interpret a sonata by J. S. Bach, a concerto from Bruch, Lalo, Saint-Saens, Spohr, Viotti, Vieuxtemps or Wienanski and three caprices by Paganini. The chosen concerto will be given to the candidate two months before the beginning of the competition.

The second preliminary test will consist of a work for unaccompanied violin by

Ysaye, given to the candidate two months before the beginning of the competition; an unpublished Belgian work of a maximum duration of eight minutes, especially composed for the competition and given to the candidate after his acceptance by the jury, and five works by different composers, including one concerto by Mozart, one romantic and one modern work. These latter works will be given to the candidate 24 hours before his performance. An unpublished work will be given to the 12 finalists who will go to the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth where they will practise “incommunicado.”

This work will be performed with orchestral accompaniment as well as a sonata chosen by the competitor. Ako to be performed, with orchestral accompaniment, is a concerto chosen by the competitor and different from those in the preceding tests. An address to write to for further detaik can be obtained from the Belgian Embassy .in Wellington.