Dear Friend of Music,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, held once again during the bright spring season as nature awakens. In these uncertain times, the importance of music as a source of joy and inspiration is greater than ever. Music can offer a space for inspiration and for discovering new ways of thinking.

The Sibelius Violin Competition is one of the most prestigious international violin competitions. Our most important value is to be the most encouraging music competition in the world. We support young violinists in their developing careers and, as a competition, we offer everyone an equal opportunity to reach international audiences.

A total of 218 young violinists under the age of 30 from over 30 countries applied to the preliminary round. Based on artistic merit, the pre-selection jury chose 45 violinists to compete in Helsinki. These young artists will carry the works of our great composer master into the world, as Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and other violin compositions become part of their repertoire.Thanks to Sibelius and Finnish music education, Finland’s musical culture is internationally recognised and respected — something we can be happy and proud of.

We are also pioneers: as the first violin competition in the world, our final round includes not only Sibelius’ Violin Concerto but also four modern violin concertos composed after 1994, from which each competitor has chosen one. This modernised final programme gives the competitors an opportunity to showcase their diverse musical skills.

The Competition Committee is delighted to continue its collaboration with Beare’s International Violin Society in London, which will enable us to offer one of our young competitors a year’s loan of a very fine G.B.Guadagnini 1777 ex Sasson violin generously loaned by Dr David Li AM through the Beares International Violin Society

We are also offering a special prize of personal mentoring by John Storgårds and Pekka Kuusisto.

We would also like to highlight the decades-long collaboration with the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Without YLE’s technologically cutting edge contributions and their excellently executed broadcasts, the Sibelius Violin Competition would not be accessible to everyone globally and in real time as it is today.

On behalf of the Sibelius Society, we would like to thank the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki for its world-class artistic and production expertise, which ensures the high standard of the competition. We would also like to thank the Sibelius family for their valuable support.

We wish the competitors every success and the audiences unforgettable concert experiences in this competition held in honour of Jean Sibelius.

Lauri Ratia, Chair of Competition Committee
Päivi Pousar, Secretary General