The Menuhin Competition

The ‘Olympics of the Violin’

Top Classical, February 2021
The Menuhin Competition is the world’s leading international competition for young violinists, held every two years in a different city (most recently in Geneva in 2018, London in 2016, Austin TX in 2014, Beijing in 2012 and Oslo in 2010). 

Founded by Yehudi Menuhin in 1983 the Competition attracts hundreds of entries from over 40 countries, choosing only 44 of the world’s very best young violinists – 22 Juniors and 22 Seniors -to participate. The Competition discovers, encourages and nurtures exceptionally talented young musicians from all corners of the globe to develop into the next generation of great artists. 

It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Robert Masters, who had been instrumental in the founding of the Yehudi Menuhin School. The competition took place for the first time in 1983 at Folkestone on the south coast of England and was based there for its first 15 years. Following a three-year gap after the 1995 competition, it resumed in 1998 at Boulogne-sur-Mer  and returned to Folkestone in 2000. 

After Menuhin’s death, the pianist Gordon Back, took over the Artistic Directorship of the competition, expanding the program into a festival format expanding the competition with concerts, master classes, and education and outreach events. The competition also began moving its venue to a different international city each time. 

With the Competition itself at its heart, each edition of the Menuhin Competition presents an 11-day festival of music, education and cultural exchange. Jurors give performances during the event and competitors participate in masterclasses and consultations with the jury as well as peer to peer learning. The jury has maintained an impeccable reputation for fairness and artistic integrity. Many prizewinners such as Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Tasmin Little, Julia Fischer, Ilya Gringolts and more recently Ray Chen, Chad Hoopes and Daniel Lozakovich have gone onto successful international careers as soloists. Some are outstanding concertmasters such as Daishin Kashimoto at the Berlin Philharmonic, and others such as Corina Belcea lead world-class chamber ensembles 

The Menuhin Competition Trust strives to provide prizewinners with a variety of performance opportunities to develop their musical careers. Cash prizes are available in excess of $85,000, plus instrumental loans and performance opportunities. 

Last year, the pandemic situation has also affected Menuin’s plans. The Competition Trust and the Richmond Symphony announced that the Menuhin Competition, scheduled for May 14-24 in Richmond, Va., was being postponed one year to May 13-23, 2021. 

David Fisk, Executive Director of the Richmond Symphony said “We look forward with great anticipation to hosting the Menuhin Competition in 2021, eagerly welcoming ‘the Olympics of the Violin’ to Richmond next May instead. The city is ready, our partners are ready, and during the coming year, we’ll work to make next year’s Competition even bigger and better than before.”