She received EUR 50,000 in prize money.
Second Prize went to Meruert Karmenova of Kazachstan, and Third Prize was awarded to Chinese violinist Qingzhu Weng.
The results of the competition were announced shortly after midnight, several hours after the last performance of the final stage, in which six violinists performed two concertos of their own choice, one of Wieniawski’s two concertos, and one of four violin concertos by Brahms, Beethoven, Dvorak and Mendelssohn.
The finalists were accompanied by the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz.
Hina Maeda is a student of the College of Music in Tokyo. Two years ago she won the Tokyo Music Competition. She has appeared as a soloist with several Japanese orchestras.
After hearing the jury's verdict, she said: “It’s a great surprise but I practiced a lot. I’m very happy.”
The remaining finalists were Hana Chang, representing Japan, Singapore and the United States, and two South Koreans, Jane Hyeonjin Cho and Dayoon You.
The winners of the three top prizes will give 30 concerts in Poland and another 30 in 20 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa.
The Sonora Agency, which organizes the tours, has already confirmed their performances in Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Seoul Art Center, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven, as well as in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Thirty-one young violinists took part in the competition. They had been selected from more than 220 applicants worldwide.
A prizewinners’ concert will be held at the Poznań Philharmonic Hall on Friday. The concert will be repeated in Warsaw on Sunday.
Photo: PAP/Jakub Kaczmarczyk
The Wieniawski Competition is the world’s oldest violin competition. Held for the first time in Warsaw in 1935, it moved to Poznań after a lapse of 17 years and has been held in that city since 1952, usually every five years.
Many of its past prizewinners went on to develop successful international careers, including Ginette Neveu, David Oistrakh, Ida Haendel, Grażyna Bacewicz, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Piotr Pławner and Agata Szymczewska.
Henry Wieniawski was a child prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of eight. He is regarded as one of the greatest violinists after Paganini.
He died in 1880, at the age of 45. His compositional output includes two violin concertos, mazurkas, polonaises, etudes and caprices.
Henryk Wieniawski. Image: FBC/Public Domain
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