They were 94 violinists during the initial selection process. The second evening of the final marked the winners of the 2019 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition. Anna Agafia Egholm and Adam Koch Christensen, both Danish, won first and second prizes respectively. Poland’s Roksana Kwasnikowska, won the third. For one week, the finalists offered the audience four performances: solo during the first round, recitals with piano in the second round, then chamber music recitals and a conterto with orchestra for the finale. As a reminder, no first prize was awarded in 2017.

The news

Two major changes were made: the choice of works was limited, highlighting the contemporary repertoire, including the compulsory piece “Ri-Tratto”, taken from the 4 Homages pour violin solo by Heinz Holliger who celebrated his 80th birthday on May 21, 2019. The finale was held at the Ferme-Asile in the form of two public concerts: the first evening, August 23, presented chamber music with Antonio Meneses, cello, and Juan Carlos Garvayo, piano; the second evening, August 24, offered the big concerti with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy. The new president Georges Starobinski applauded the high level of all candidates and the demanding requirements of the Competition.

WINNERS 2019

• 1st prize, Grand Prix of the City of Sion Anna Agafia EGHOLM (22 years, Denmark)
• 2nd prize, Loterie Romande Prize Adam Koch CHRISTENSEN (19 years old, Denmark)
• 3rd prize, Valais State Prize Roksana KWASNIKOWSKA (24 years old, Poland)
• Tibor Varga Prize, for the best interpretation of “Ri-tratto” from Heinz Holliger’s 4 Homages pour violin solo Anna Agafia EGHOLM (22 years, Denmark)
• Young Jury Prize Adam Koch CHRISTENSEN (19 years old, Denmark)
• Audience Prize Adam Koch CHRISTENSEN (19 years old, Denmark)

The jury

The jury was composed of Georges Starobinski, President (Switzerland), David Takeno (Japan), Gilbert Varga (Switzerland), Pavel Vernikov (Ukraine-Israel), Krzysztof Wegrzyn (Poland), Zhou Qian (Singapore) and Eva Zurbrügg (Swiss). They were joined for the finals, as chamber musicians and then as jurors by Antonio Meneses, cello (Argentina) and Juan Carlos Garvayo, piano (Spain). On the second evening of the final, they were accompanied by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy.

Some numbers

Of the 94 applications submitted, 65% were women and 21 nationalities were represented. The best represented continents were Asia (54%), followed by Europe (24%) and America (17%). The average age of the candidates was 21, 9 months and 6 days and the three youngest are not yet 17 years old. Only one applicant was Swiss. For the first time, the organizers are pleased to have received applications from Australia (3) and the Philippines (1).

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• Jury President Georges Starobinski is about to reveal the results in front of the finalists.