By M.M.
8 November 2006

A young Polish violinist triumphs in an international contest-the first time a Pole has won the prestigious competition in 15 years.

Agata Szymczewska, a 21-year-old Polish musician, won this year's Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition. The competition, the 13th to date, was held in Poznań Oct. 14-30.

Szymczewska, a student of music schools in Poland and Germany and one of the most exciting Polish violin talents of recent years, was among the favorites from the first stage of the competition. In the finals, she was unrivaled and impressed the judges not only with her artistic dexterity but also her mature interpretations. Observers and music critics agreed that her victory at the Wieniawski Competition, one of the world's most prestigious contests for young violinists, could launch the young musician on an international career.

One of the judges, Japanese violin virtuoso Koichiro Harada, said he "knew from the very beginning" that Szymczewska would win. Meanwhile, the modesty of the young violinist endeared her to her Poznań audiences.

"I came here simply to play beautifully," Szymczewska said after the results of the competition were announced. "I love to play. It gives me pleasure and I treat every concert as a challenge. I wasn't counting on winning. In fact, all those who made it to the finals won. And the fact that I won doesn't mean that my performance will improve overnight."

Szymczewska is a student at the Jan I. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań and the School of Music in Hanover.

The Henryk Wieniawski competition is targeted at violinists aged up to 30. Its aim is to disseminate Wieniawski's work and promote outstanding violin talent. More than 100 violinists from across the world applied to take part in this year's contest. Eventually, 32 musicians took part in the main competition-of the 49 preliminary entrants selected by the judges on the basis of video recordings.

Judges praised the artistic standards of this year's event. Ida Haendel, a British violinist of Polish descent, said that all the finalists were talented and played well. Another judge, Igor Ozim of Slovenia, said that the competition, "like every international competition of such significance," was difficult, "but this is exactly what it should be like."

During the finals, each violinist played two concertos, one by Wieniawski and one by a different composer. Szymczewska, who won the hearts of the audience and the judges with her "naturalness and self-confidence," as one of the critics wrote, performed Wieniawski's Concerto in D minor and Jan Sibelius' Concerto in D minor. Five Poles, two Russians and a Japanese appeared in the finals.

The competition ended with a gala concert at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań with the participation of internationally acclaimed violinist Maxim Vengerov of Russia and the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra under Andrzej Boreyko. A day earlier, the winners of the competition performed in a joint concert.

The competition, organized by the Henryk Wieniawski Society of Music in Poznań, was held under the honorary patronage of Polish President Lech Kaczyński. The funding was provided by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the municipality of Poznań and the Office of the Wielkopolska Province Marshal.

The competition was accompanied by an event important for the city of Poznań. On Oct. 30, the local airport was named after Henryk Wieniawski. Three famous female violinists sitting on the competition jury, Haendel, Marina Yashvili and Wanda Wiłkomirska, took part in the ceremony. During the unveiling of a commemorative plaque dedicated to Wieniawski, Bartłomiej Nizioł, one of the judges and the winner of the 10th competition in 1991, played one of the composer's violin capriccios.


Musical Heritage
The Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition, the world's oldest ongoing contest of its kind, takes place every five years. It was organized for the first time in Warsaw in 1935, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Wieniawski, a composer and one of the most outstanding violinists of the second half of the 19th century. French violinist Ginette Neveu won the first competition and an honorable mention was given to Grażyna Bacewicz, who went on to become what many consider Poland's most brilliant female composer of the 20th century.

Among prize winners of subsequent competitions were famous violin virtuosos such as Igor Oistrakh and Vadim Brodsky.

The first competition had two stages, and from the second through the 11th, there were three stages. Under changes introduced into the competition rules in 2001, the competition now has four stages. During the first stage, which is a closed session, judges hear recordings submitted by candidates on video cassettes. The public take part in the remaining stages. The maximum number of contestants admitted to the second stage is 60. Twenty-four take part in the third stage and just 12 make it to the fourth and final stage.


Members of the Jury
Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Poland-chairman
Edward Grach, Russia
Ida Haendel, Britain
Koichiro Harada, Japan
Marina Yashvili, Georgia
Wolfgang Marschner, Germany
Bartek Nizioł, Poland
Igor Ozim, Slovenia
Zlatko Stahuljak, Croatia
Wanda Wiłkomirska, Poland
Lina Yu, China
Grigori Zhyslin, Russia


Winners of the 13th competition
First Prize-Agata Szymczewska, Poland ($25,000 and gold medal)
Second Prize-Airi Suzuki, Japan ($20,000 and silver medal)
Third Prize-Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, Poland ($15,000 and bronze medal)
Fourth Prize-Lev Solodovnikov, Russia ($10,000)
Fifth Prize, tied-Maria Machowska, Poland, and -Jarosław Nadrzycki, Poland ($8,000 each)
Sixth Prize-Wojciech Pławner, Poland ($5,000)
Honorable mention-Simeon Klimashevskiy, Russia ($3,500)

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