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Lora Markova, 17 years old, wins the 2nd Tibor Junior Competition

 

It is with great pleasure, given the circumstances, that we communicate to you the results of the 2nd Tibor Junior International Violin Competition, which has just ended after five days of tests behind closed doors in the beautiful and evocative Jesuit Church in Sion. Let us remember that we had to postpone it to 2020 because of the pandemic.

 

Twelve young talents from ten countries and three continents (including two Swiss) competed in a context that was certainly professional and demanding, but at the same time generous and deeply human, in accordance with the pedagogical principles of the founder of this unique competition, Pavel Vernikov. Aged between 15 and 18, these future soloists impressed the jury and the virtual public with their remarkable performances, demonstrating a technical mastery and artistic maturity that are extraordinary for their young age. An “excellent” level overall, said Pavel Vernikov, president of the jury.

 

It was therefore not easy for the jurors to choose the winners, or rather the laureates, whose names are given below without further ado:

  • First Prize: Lora Markova (17 years old – Bulgaria)
  • Second Prize: Anais Feller (15 years old – USA)
  • Third Prize: Moë Dierstein (15 years old – Germany)
  • Orchestra Prize – replacing the Audience Prize: Anais Feller

 

In addition, Oleksandra Khmara (16 years old – Ukraine) won the Social Prize of the Sion Violon Musique Foundation, and thus went home with a violin made by the Sédun violin maker Jérémie Bonnet, in keeping with her talent. Maya Alexandra Kasprzak (15 years old – Germany) was rewarded for her interpretation of the piece “Catch me”, created especially for the competition by the Georgian composer Josef Bardanashvili.

 

The candidates, whether victorious or disappointed, can be all the more proud of their performances as the current health crisis has deprived them of the warmth of the audience present in the hall, making the conditions of the competition undoubtedly tougher. Nevertheless, many spectators followed the events live on the internet and, for the final, on Canal 9.

 

A big thank you goes to the Sion Festival Orchestra, which accompanied the candidates for all the rounds; a particularly demanding exercise since the orchestra was reduced to only ten members, masked moreover, to meet the current public health requirements.

 

Finally, what would a competition be without a jury worthy of the name? For its second edition, the Tibor Junior Competition once again benefited from the participation of renowned violinists and pedagogues, whom we would like to thank for their unfailing commitment: Pavel Vernikov(Ukraine-Israel), President, Alexia Eichhorn (Germany), Thomas Jung (Switzerland), Dong-Suk Kang (Korea) and Noémie Robidas (Canada) – Director of the HEMU.

 

We are confident that we will soon be able to welcome you to our traditional summer events. We will unveil the programme as soon as possible, depending on the health situation. Check our website and our social networks!