Paganini Competition


The Paganini Competition is an international violin competition named after the famed virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, considered the founder of modern violin technique. Established in 1954, it is currently held biennially at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy, typically in September or October.
The Premio Paganini is one of the most important violin competitions. Following a pre-selection stage, the contest consists of three rounds: preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals. The required repertoire includes works for solo violin, violin and piano accompaniment, and violin with orchestra, featuring compositions by Niccolò Paganini and a contemporary work commissioned by the competition. Performers may also include works by other composers in their programs.

History

The Paganini Competition was established in 1954 in Genoa as part of the city’s Colombian Celebrations, following a proposal first made in 1940 by music critic Carlo Marcello Rietmann. The initiative, delayed by World War II, was realized under Councillor for Fine Arts Lazzaro Maria De Bernardis and composer Luigi Cortese, who served as the first Artistic Director.
Originally held at the Niccolò Paganini Conservatory, the competition later moved to the Teatro Margherita to accommodate larger audiences and, since 1992, has taken place at the Teatro Carlo Felice. It gained international recognition early on and became a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 1957.
Over time the competition has undergone several structural changes: it shifted from an annual to a biennial event, introduced open preliminary rounds in the 1980s, and later added international pre-selections in cities such as Genoa, New York, Vienna and Tokyo. Since 2004, contemporary works have been commissioned for competition performance, and the organizational role has been shared with the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice.

Eligibility

Participants of all nationalities may participate, provided they are at least 15 by the applicant deadline and no older than 31 years of age through the duration of the competition.

Competition

The competition was held annually between 1954 and 2001. Since then, its frequency has varied, including a five-year hiatus between 2010 and 2015. Under current rules, it is scheduled to take place every two years.
Preliminaries: Preliminary repertoire includes two selections for solo violin or violin and piano accompaniment, and two of Niccolò Paganini’s Caprices, Op. 1.
Semi-Finals: Candidates perform three or four works for solo violin or violin and piano, including one virtuosic piece by Paganini and one contemporary composition.
Finals: Candidates perform two works with orchestra, one of which must be by Paganini. These may be complete concertos or selected movements.

Jury

The international jury consists of seven to nine members, who are usually violinists but sometimes conductors, composers, and other musicians.
In February 2018, prior to that year's competition, chairman Fabio Luisi resigned in protest at what he described as external interference in the jury selection process by city cultural official Elisa Serafini.

Awards

The first prize, known as the Premio Paganini, is not necessarily awarded each edition. The winner is given the opportunity to perform on Paganini’s 1743 Il Cannone violin by Guarneri 'del Gesù', and may receive concert and recording engagements. Joint winners are no longer awarded.
Six musicians place, though occasionally seven have been awarded prizes. Since 1989, special distinctions and prizes may also be granted by external institutions or donors.

Special awards

  • Prize in memory of Dr. Enrico Costa: Offered by the Costa Family to the youngest participant admitted to the Final.
  • Prize in memory of Renato De Barbieri: Offered by the Government of the Province of Genoa to one of the finalists for the best interpretation of Paganini’s Capricci within the Preliminary and Semifinal Stages.
  • Prize of the Association Amici di Paganini: Offered by the Association for the finest performance of the Paganini Concerto.
  • Prize in memory of Mario Ruminelli: Offered by the Ruminelli Family to the best placed finalist
  • Friends of the Nuovo Carlo Felice Association prize: Offered for the best performance of the commissioned work.

    Winners

Breakdown of winners and finalists by nationality

8
5
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

45
37
27
25
20
13
12
12
10
9
8
7
7
3
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Highest number of prizes held

Prize winners with a minimum of three prizes, including special prizes and prizes across multiple editions, are listed here.
  • Giovanni Angeleri - 7 prizes
  • Eijin Nimura - 5 prizes
  • Yuki Manuela Janke - 4 prizes
  • Jean-Pierre Wallez - 4 prizes
  • In Mo Yang - 4 prizes
  • Kevin Zhu - 4 prizes
  • Ilya Gringolts - 3 prizes
  • Mengla Huang - 3 prizes
  • Stephanie Jeong - 3 prizes
  • Dami Kim - 3 prizes
  • Feng Ning - 3 prizes
  • Mariusz Patyra - 3 prizes
  • Gabriele Pieranunzi - 3 prizes
  • Sayaka Shoji - 3 prizes
  • Reiko Watanabe - 3 prizes
  • Hyun Seo Kim - 3 prizes

    Past prize-winners

I Edition - 1954

Not awarded

II Edition - 1955

  • 1st Prize: Not awarded
  • 2nd Prize: Not awarded
  • 3rd Prize: Luciano Vicari
  • 4th Prize: Liliane Beretti and

    III Edition - 1956

  • 1st Prize: György Pauk and Gérard Poulet
  • 2nd Prize: Not awarded
  • 3rd Prize: Not awarded
  • 4th Prize: Carmencita Lozada, Luciano Vicari and Jean-Pierre Wallez

    IV Edition - 1957

  • 1st Prize: Not awarded
  • 2nd Prize: Salvatore Accardo and Pierre Doukan
  • 4th Prize: Jean-Pierre Wallez
  • 5th Prize: Not awarded

    V Edition - 1958

  • 1st Prize: Salvatore Accardo
  • 2nd Prize: Jean-Pierre Wallez

    VI Edition - 1959

  • 1st Prize: Stuart Canin
  • 2nd Prize: Saschko Gawriloff
  • 3rd Prize: Liliane Caillon
  • 4th Prize: Catherine Courtois
  • 5th Prize: Eleonora Dell'Aquila
  • 6th Prize: Johannes Brüning

    VII Edition - 1960

  • 1st Prize: Not awarded
  • 2nd Prize: Jean-Pierre Wallez and Yossi Zivoni
  • 4th Prize: Gigino Maestri
  • 6th Prize: Josef Sivo

    VIII Edition - 1961

  • 1st Prize:
  • 2nd Prize: Elaine Skorodin and Carmencita Lozada
  • 4th Prize: Bice Antonioni and Paulette Bedin

    IX Edition - 1962

  • 1st Prize: Maryvonne Le Dizès
  • 2nd Prize: Etsuko Hirose
  • 3rd Prize: Liliane Caillon
  • 4th Prize: Marilyn Dubow

    X Edition - 1963

  • 1st Prize: Oleh Krysa
  • 2nd Prize: Valentin Zuk
  • 3rd Prize: Shizuko Ishii
  • 4th Prize: Paul Zukofsky
  • 5th Prize: Diana Cummings
  • 6th Prize: Igor Politkovsky

    XI Edition - 1964

  • 1st Prize: Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  • 2nd Prize: Pierre Amoyal and Yoko Kubo
  • 4th Prize: Hisako Tokue and Tomotada Soh
  • 6th Prize: Antoine Goulard

    XII Edition - 1965

  • 1st Prize: Viktor Pikaizen
  • 2nd Prize: Philippe Hirschhorn
  • 3rd Prize: Andrei Korsakov
  • 4th Prize: Yoko Kubo
  • 5th Prize: Elisabeth Balmas, Joshua Epstein and Jacques Israelievitch

    XIII Edition - 1966

  • 1st Prize: Not awarded
  • 2nd Prize: Robert Menga
  • 3rd Prize: Isako Shinozaki
  • 5th Prize: Nicolai Marangosof and Kineko Okumura

    XIV Edition - 1967

  • 1st Prize: Grigori Zhislin
  • 2nd Prize: Vladimir Spivakov
  • 3rd Prize: Patrice Fontanarosa
  • 4th Prize: Petar Delcev
  • 5th Prize: Sergio Diacenko
  • 6th Prize: Mikhail Gantwarg

    XV Edition - 1968

  • 1st Prize: Miriam Fried
  • 2nd Prize: Hamao Fujiwara
  • 3rd Prize: Gabriella Ijac
  • 4th Prize: Petar Delcev
  • 5th Prize: Masako Yanagita
  • 6th Prize: Emmanuel Krivine

    XVI Edition - 1969

  • 1st Prize: Gidon Kremer
  • 2nd Prize: Kathleen Lenski
  • 3rd Prize: Joshua Epstein
  • 4th Prize: Isidora Schwarzberg
  • 5th Prize: Sergey Kravchenko
  • 6th Prize: Josef Rissin
  • 7th Prize: Adam Korniszewski

    XVII Edition - 1970

  • 1st Prize: Not awarded
  • 2nd Prize: Mintcho Mintchev
  • 3rd Prize: Thomas Goldschmidt Egel and Michał Grabarczyk
  • 5th Prize: Adam Korniszewski
  • 6th Prize: Keiko Wataya

    XVIII Edition - 1971

  • 1st Prize: Mose Sekler
  • 2nd Prize: Bogodar Kotorovych
  • 3rd Prize: Roswitha Randacher
  • 4th Prize: Tadeusz Gadzina
  • 5th Prize: Elvira Nakipbecova
  • 6th Prize: Maria Balint

    XIX Edition - 1972

  • 1st Prize: Eugene Fodor
  • 2nd Prize:
  • 3rd Prize: Gerardo Ribeiro
  • 4th Prize: Georgi Tilev
  • 5th Prize: Teresa Glabowna