Eight participants have been nominated for the semi-final concerts of the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hanover

The jury of the 12th Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hanover has nominated eight of a total of 21 participants for the semi-final concerts. In two preliminary round concerts, the following violinists could convince the international jury, chaired by soprano Juliane Banse:

• Alexander Won-Ho Kim (31, South Korea)
• Eunjoong Park (23, South Korea)
• Alexandra Weissbecker (22, Germany)
• Louisa Staples (24, Great Britain)
• Kyumin Park (27, South Korea)
• Angela Chan (27, Hong Kong/China)
• Jacques Forestier (19, Canada)
• Xunyue Zhang (20, China)

(Names in performance order)

The eight participants will now perform in the semi-final concerts. In the first semi-final round, they will demonstrate their leadership skills in a play-and-conduct chamber music concert with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, with works by Mozart and Bartók.

Two dates: Sunday, 22 September 2024 at 19:30 and Monday, 23 September 2024 at 19:30
Venue: Richard Jakoby Saal, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media
Performance order: Alexander Won-Ho Kim, Eunjoong Park, Alexandra Weissbecker, Louisa Staples (Concert 1), Kyumin Park, Angela Chan, Jacques Forestier, Xunyue Zhang (Concert 2)

The second round of the semi-final requires the presentation of a recital, lasting about one hour with a challenging concert programme of their own choice. The first violin part of a movement from a string quartet by Joseph Haydn is part of the recital. This is to be played together with Jana Kuss, William Coleman and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan from the Kuss Quartet. The movement and the sheet music for it will only be announced and handed out now.

Four dates: Monday, 23 September at 16:00, Tuesday, 24 September at 16:00 and at 19:30, Wednesday, 25 September at 16:00
Venue: Richard Jakoby Saal, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media
Performance order: Alexander Won-Ho Kim, Eunjoong Park (Concert 1), Alexandra Weissbecker, Louisa Staples (Concert 2), Kyumin Park, Angela Chan (Concert 3), Jacques Forestier, Xunyue Zhang (Concert 4)

On 25 September at 19:30 the three finalists of the competition will be announced by the jury. They will compete in the final on 28 September for the ‘Joseph Joachim’, the main prize of 30,000 euros. Together with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under the baton of Stephan Zilias, they will present a major violin concerto and the world premiere of the commissioned work ‘Feder’ by Enno Poppe in the Großer Sendesaal of the NDR Konzerthaus.

Every three years since 1991, the Stiftung Niedersachsen has been organising the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition, named after the famous violinist, composer and pedagogue Joseph Joachim. Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille have been the artistic directors and hosts of the competition since 2019. With the competition, they are giving curious young violinists the chance to showcase their instrumental excellence and to courageously demonstrate their individuality. The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC).

Dates and venues 2024
The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition is being held from 16 to 28 September 2024 in the ‘Richard Jakoby Saal’ of the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and in the ‘Großer Sendesaal’ of the ‘NDR Konzerthaus’ in Hanover.

Advance ticket sales and livestream
Tickets for the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition are on advance sales via the ticket portal reservix.de and at all affiliated advance booking offices, including the advance booking office at the Künstlerhaus Hannover. All competition concerts will also be streamed live at www.jjv-hannover.de

Participants 2024
21 young violinists from nine countries travelled to Hanover for the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition. The participants come from South Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Hungary, the USA, Canada, Russia and the UK. Nine participants currently live and study in Europe, seven of them in Germany. The average age is 22. Two participants are only 16 years old, the oldest participant is 31 years old.

Competition jury 2024
The jury of the 2024 competition consists of internationally renowned and distinguished personalities who bring very different perspectives and experiences from concert and musical life to their assessment: Soprano Juliane Banse will chair the jury and carry out the assessments together with violinists Lorenza Borrani, Feng Ning, Liza Ferschtman, András Keller (from the semi-final onwards), Gidon Kremer (final only) and Kathrin Rabus as well as violist Kim Kashkashian, pianist Alexander Lonquich (from the semi-final onwards) and conductor Stephan Zilias.

Artistic Directors: Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille
Antje Weithaas, 1st prize winner of the first Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in 1991, has been the director since 2019. Today, she is one of the most internationally recognised violin virtuosos and a world-class violin teacher. As a soloist, Antje Weithaas works with the world's most renowned orchestras. As an inspiring play-lead of play-conduct projects, she was responsible for the musical profile of the Camerata Bern for almost ten years as its artistic director. Her CD recordings are reference recordings and have met enthusiastic reactions, such as the complete recording of Beethoven's violin sonatas with Dénes Várjon or the solo sonatas and partitas by Bach and Ysaÿe.

Oliver Wille continues the competition's close cooperation with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH). He has been a professor of string chamber music there since 2011 and leads an internationally successful quartet class, among other projects. Since 2021, he has been the university's Vice President and Commissioner for the Arts. As a founding member of the innovative, acclaimed Kuss Quartet, he has helped defining chamber music for more than 30 years. In addition to an international concert career, the Kuss Quartet has become known for its new concert formats. Oliver Wille has also been the artistic director of the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker since 2015.

Partners
The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition brings together important institutions from Hanover and Lower Saxony's musical life. The Stiftung Niedersachsen cooperates with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Fritz Behrens Stiftung, Warner Classics and the G. Henle publishing house, Kronberg Academy and karsten witt musik management GmbH. NDR Kultur is a cultural partner of the competition. In addi-tion, more than 30 concert partnerships have been concluded with renowned festivals, orchestras and concert halls. The Violin Channel, The Strad and Amadeus TV will accompany the 2024 competition as media partners.

About Stiftung Niedersachsen
The Stiftung Niedersachsen has been committed to art, culture, science and education throughout the state since 1987. As a state cultural foundation, it strengthens the diversity of culture in Lower Saxony by supporting non-profit projects and helps to raise the profile of the cultural location. Each year, the foundation supports around 200 projects and is itself operationally active with funding programs.