Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition Announces Winners

SHANGHAI,Sept. 4,2018 --After three weeks and over 36 hours of inspiring performances from 27 of the most talented violinists from around the world,the second Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC) announces the following winners:

First Prize:Nancy Zhou,(United States) -$100,000and performance contracts with top orchestras

Second Prize: Olga Sroubkova,(Czech Republic) -$50,000

Third Prize:Diana Tishchenko,(Ukraine) -$25,000

Fourth Prize:Jia Yi Chen,(China)-$5,000

Fifth Prize:Chang Yuan Ting,(Canada) -$5,000

Sixth Prize:Yun Tang,(China) -$5,000

Nancy Zhou,First Place Winner of the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition during her Final Round with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Stern. Photo: SISIVC

Special Awards for Humanitarian Leadership and Chinese Performance

The Isaac Stern Human Spirit Award was given to Kayhan Kalhor and the Xiaoshuijing Miao Farmers Choir in recognition of having made,"an outstanding contribution to our understanding of humanity through the medium of music." The two winners were selected by the chair of the competition's organisation committeeLong Yu,Yo-Yo Ma,and members of the Stern family. Both were awarded USD$10,000.

CPIC Award:Olga Sroubkova - awarded for best Chinese work performance ­- Qigang Chen's La joie de la souffrance - with a cash prize of USD$10,000.

Rigorous Repertoire and Scoring Transparency

During the Final Round,each of the six women performed two concertos with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the direction ofMichael Stern-a new Chinese work by Qigang Chen and a concerto chosen from a list of standard repertoire. In previous rounds,contestants composed their own cadenzas for a Mozart concerto,played chamber music with the Shanghai Quartet and performed seven solo works. The Final Round was broadcast on Chinese television and livestreamed globally. Performances of all rounds are available online on theSISIVC YouTube channel. All jury scoring was made public.For more information visit: http://www.shcompetition.com/en

About the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC)

The second biennial SISIVC,Shanghai'sfirst world-class violin competition,was held from10 August to 1 September,2018inShanghai,China. This Competition has taken its name fromIsaac Sternto commemorate the musical spirit of Maestro Stern by which a young generation of musicians can be inspired and motivated. Along with a grand prize of USD$100,000- the highest monetary award of any international music competition- a jury of renowned artists and pedagogues,and a unique performance process,the Competition leverages Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's platform with extensive resources around the world.

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