Candidates Announced for Italy's 2021 "Premio Paganini" Competition

This year's competition will take place from October 15-24, 2021 in Genoa, Italy - with the Final round to be streamed LIVE here on The Violin Channel

The 2021 International Violin Competition Premio Paganini has announced its 24 opening-round candidates.

Open to violinists of any nationality between the ages of 15 and 31, the competition was founded in 1954 with the goal of creating an international competition that would bring great prestige to the City of Genoa as well as provide a venue for discovering new, young, exceptional talents.

The first prize winner of this year's competition will be awarded €30,000 and a contract from the Shanghai Utopia Media Agency, plus more than 15 performances, including solo engagements with the Carlo Felice Theater Foundation, Orchestra of Tuscany, Lithuanian National Philharmonic, Cremonese  Stradivari Foundation, Paganini Genoa Festival, and the Carro Paganiniano Festival.

They will also be given the highly prestigious and rare opportunity to play on the 1743 "Il Cannone" Guarneri del Gesù violin — once the prized instrument of choice, of Paganini, himself.

The 2021 opening-round candidates include:

• Laura Llozi

• Chaowen Luo

• Arseniya Sibileva

• Louisa Staples

• Belle Ting

• Jacqueline Tso

• Yukiko Uno

• Qingzhu Weng

• Hanae Yakuro

• Rino Yoshimoto

• Arata Yumi

• Galiya Zharova

• Christopher Tun Andersen

• Olga Artyugina

• Ava Bahari

• Lara Boschkor

• Yige Chen

• Jung Min Choi

• Nurie Chung

• Sofia Devutskaia

• Nazar Fedyuk

• Giuseppe Gibboni

• Kingston Ho

• Areg Navarsardyan

It is regarded as one of the most important violin competitions in the world, with former first prize winners including Gyorgy Pauk, Gérard Poulet, Salvatore Accardo, Gidon Kremer, Ilya Grubert, Leonidas Kavakos, Ilya Gringolts, Sayaka Shoji, Ning Feng, and VC Young Artists Inmo Yang and Kevin Zhu.

The 2021 jury comprises Sergei Krylov (President), Pietro Borgonovo, Pierangelo Conte, Francesca Dego, Stephanie Gonley, Aiman Mussakhajayeva, Christoph Poppen, Jacobs Soelberg, and Pavel Vernikov.

For full schedule, visit: www.premiopaganini.it.