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Doing it right
HANOVER
At the 2024 edition of the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition, Charlotte Gardner was treated to a masterclass in how a music contest can give its candidates a wholly positive experience
Decisions made with humanity and artistry, in an environment clearly aimed at helping all candidates grow: it’s not every competition that can be summed up in this way, but this was exactly how it felt at the 2024 edition of the triennial Joseph Joachim Violin Competition (JJVC) last September – the second under the joint artistic directorship of violinists Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille.
Twenty-one violinists aged 16 to 31 came to Hanover, from eight different countries. Soprano Juliane Banse chaired a jury comprising violinists Lorenza Borrani, Ning Feng, Liza Ferschtman, András Keller, Gidon Kremer and Kathrin Rabus, violist Kim Kashkashian, pianist and conductor Alexander Lonquich and Hanover State Opera general director Stephan Zilias. Prizes included the top €30,000 Joseph Joachim Prize and €10,000 each for all three finalists; plus special awards including a debut recording with Warner Classics, the three-year loan of a 1765 Guadagnini violin from the Fritz Behrens Foundation, a €2,000 voucher for sheet music from the publisher G. Henle, and a total of 31 concerto and recital concert engagements.