The six semi-finalists in the 2023 Michael Hill International Violin Competition will be whittled down to the top three in Auckland tonight.
In the running are Gabrielle Despres, 22 (Canada/United States), Yeyeong Jenny Jin, 20 (South Korea/US), Lorenz Karls, 21 (Sweden/Austria), Eva Rabchevska, 26 (Ukraine/Germany), Aoi Saito, 25 (Japan/Germany) and Claire Wells, 22 (US/Germany).
They’re each leading one of four selected Mozart quintets alongside collaborative artists violinist Amalia Hall, violists Gillian Ansell and Robert Ashworth and cellist Ashley Brown.
Tonight, the top three will be announced to progress to the grand final, being held on Saturday, in which they’ll perform a major violin concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Litton.
The winner will receive $40,000, a recording contract with the Atoll label, and a multi-centre winner’s tour with Chamber Music New Zealand.
Also up for grabs is a special prize of a three-year loan of a violin by Rare Violins of New York.
Meantime, the classical musical world was abuzz with what was happening in Queenstown over King’s Birthday Weekend, with performances at the Queenstown Memorial Centre livestreamed across the world.
Over the four days of quarter-finals there were more than 100,000 views from more than 65 countries on the livestream, while more than
500,000 global followers visited the competition or media partner The Violin Channel’s site and social media channels.
The event is supported by the Hill Family Foundation for Arts and Music, Craigs Investment Partners, Michael Hill International, Chiron Group and Nockies Palette Wines.
