The choice of Beijing may not be at all coincidential as founder Yehudi Menuhin had a special relationship with China. He was the first Western musician to receive an Honorary Professorship from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1979. What is more, Chinese competitors and jury members have been a prominent part of the competition throughout its history.
Competition Director Gordon Back comments: “China is musically and culturally such an exciting place at the moment. Beijing is an ideal location for the competition and its associated festival of events. It is home to a world-class conservatoire with truly spectacular concert venues”
The Competition is the world’s leading event for young violinists under the age of 22 and has been running for 27 years but never before outside Europe. It was originally staged in the small English town of Folkstone and now passes between world cities every two years.
The competition attracts the world’s most gifted young violinists. Many previous winners like Isabelle van Keulen, Julia Fischer and Nikolaj Znaider have gone on to achieve international success at the highest level. The Junior winner of the Menuhin Competition Cardiff 2008, Chad Hoopes, became the youngest violin soloist ever signed by IMG Artists. The 2008 Senior winner, Ray Chen, went on to win last year’s Queen Elisabeth Competition
in Brussels.
The 2010 competition in Oslo celebrated the anniversary of the great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull and brought together two dozen Norwegian music organisations. Each host country, it is hoped, will bring to the Competition its own unique musical heritage. For China, expectations are sure to be no less.