Between September 26 and October 10, 2021 the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover will be held for the eleventh time. In 2021, the competition is seeking applicants from all nations who were born between October 10, 1989 and September 26, 2005.
Please register for an account in order to complete your application. Only online applications will be accepted.
You may start the application process and save your session in order to return to it at a later time. Please be prepared to upload the following documents:
- A birth certificate or another type of official document verifying your age
- A high-resolution head shot with copyright owned by you
- Your artistic vitae
- Your competition repertory (see Repertory)
- A video recording of Eugène Ÿsaye: Sonata for Violin solo in G major, op. 27 No. 5 – 2nd movement (Danse rustique Allegro giocoso molto moderato)
- A video recording of a Franz Schubert Duo with piano of your choice. Which would be: Rondo D895, Fantasy D934, Sonata D574, or Sonatinas D384, D385, D408
- A recording protocol
Your application must be received no later than April 15, 2021, 11:59 p.m. (CET).
We recommend to upload your video-files 10-14 days before the application deadline. This will allow us to contact you in case of any technical issues.
PRIZES
JOSEPH-JOACHIM-PRIZE: 30,000 EUR
Four finalists will be eligible to win the main prize of the competition, which will be awarded by the jury.
LAUREATE: 10,000 EUR
Each of the four finalists will receive a monetary award of € 10,000 and will have earned the right to bear the title “Laureate of the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover”.
BEST INTERPRETATION OF THE COMMISSIONED WORK: 5,000 EUR
The prize will be awarded by Manfred Trojahn, the composer of the commissioned work, and the jury.
CHAMBER MUSIC: 3,000 EUR
The members of the Kuss Quartet, who will accompany the semifinalists, will be awarding the prize for best chamber music performance.
AUDIENCE AWARD: 2,000 EUR
On the evening of the finale, the audience will choose its winner.
DEBUT ALBUM | WARNER CLASSICS AWARD
The Warner Classics label chooses one person whose debut album will be communicated and marketed internationally.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA GUADAGNINI VIOLIN
Since 2000, the Fritz Behrens Foundation has been endowing the winner of the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover with the generous loan of a violin made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (Parma, around 1765).
HENLE URTEXT AWARD
The G. Henle Verlag awards a music voucher worth 2.000 € among the finalists.
CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS
At the invitation of the artistic director, important concert organizers have confirmed their participation in the competition. Upon reaching the semifinals, the musicians will have the chance to be recommended for a concert. The organizers themselves choose the musicians they will invite.
REPERTORY
PRELIMINARY ROUND 1
One of the following works for solo violin:
Johann Sebastian Bach:
BWV 1001, 1003, 1005
AND
One of the following works for solo violin:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann:
No. 1, No. 2
Paul Hindemith:
op. 11 No. 6, op. 31 No. 1, op. 31 No. 2
Arthur Honegger:
H 143
Max Reger:
op. 42 No. 1-4, op. 91 No. 1-6
Erwin Schulhoff:
WV 83
Eugène Ÿsaye:
op. 27 No. 1-6
(The maximum length of this session is 30 minutes!)
PRELIMINARY ROUND 2
One of the following works violin and piano:
Ludwig van Beethoven:
E flat major, op. 12 No. 3
A minor, op. 23
A major, op. 30 No. 1
G major, op. 96
Franz Schubert:
Rondo B minor, D 895
Fantasie C major, D 934
Sonata A major, D 574
AND
One complete work of the competitor’s choice for solo violin or for violin and piano
(The maximum length of this session is 35 minutes!)
SEMIFINAL ROUND 1
The semi-finalists will perform with the Camerata Bern (play and conduct).
First and second movement of one of the following concertos for violin and chamber orchestra:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
B flat major, KV 207
D major, KV 218
A major, KV 219
AND
First movement from:
Béla Bartòk
Divertimento, Sz 113
SEMIFINAL ROUND 2
A recital with a total duration of 60-70 minutes.
The recital will contain the first violin part of a string quartet movement by Joseph Haydn. The sheet music will be made available to you after the Semifinal Round I concert (approximately 40 hours before your recital). You will be performing with the Kuss Quartet (Jana Kuss, William Coleman, and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan) after an extensive rehearsal.
The remainder of the recital repertory can be freely selected, but should follow a theme and show your artistic spectrum. You will perform solo and with piano accompaniment. Should you wish to include other musicians, you may do so at your own expense.
The recital theme will selected by our partners in collaboration with the artistic directors and announced on August 9, 2021. We ask you to submit your repertory no later than August 25, 2021, including a commentary suitable for publication in the program notes (approx. 600-900 characters).
FINAL ROUND
The finalists will perform with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under the baton of Andrew Manze.
One of the following concertos for violin and symphony orchestra:
Ludwig van Beethoven, op. 61
Johannes Brahms, op. 77
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, op. 64
Robert Schumann (1853)
AND
Commissioned Work by Manfred Trojahn
The finalist will all perform at the same evening. The awarding ceremony will follow the performances.
More information here