Applications Open to Italy's 57th International Violin Competition "Premio Paganini"

This year's competition will take place from October 16-27, 2023 in Genoa, Italy

Open to violinists of any nationality between the ages of 15 and 31, the Premio Paganini Competition was founded in 1954 to pay homage to the famous virtuoso from Genoa.

The relaunch of the competition is strongly supported by Genoa's Mayor Marco Bucci, who entrusted the Presidency of the Prize to Giovanni Panebianco, former Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture.

Now awarded every two years, the competition has seen a number of important changes: a new logo, an autonomous headquarters, a new organizational model, a new website, Instagram and Facebook social profiles — and the appointment of the "Paganini Ambassadors" of particular international importance who will work to promote the Award and the universal values of music in Italy and abroad.

The First Prize, entitled “Premio Paganini,” will receive € 30,000, while the 2nd Prize is at € 20,000 and the 3rd Prize is at € 10,000. 4th through 6th Prize will receive € 4,000, € 3,000, and € 2,000 respectively.

The Premio Paganini winner will also be invited to perform at an impressive list of concerts, found here, at world-renowned institutions beginning with Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Additionally, the winner will be offered the opportunity to play the "Cannone," — the famous violin made in 1743 by the luthier Giuseppe Guarneri "del Gesù," which Paganini gave to his hometown and which is now kept in Palazzo Tursi, seat of the Municipality of Genoa.

The 2023 jury includes Salvatore Accardo (President), Ilya Grubert, Michael Guttman, Emmanuel Krivine, Christopher Reuning, Maxim Vengerov, and Reiko Watanabe.

"I am really happy and excited to preside over the jury of the Paganini Prize 2023 and I have countless wonderful memories of my first participation as a contestant and winner and the subsequent victorious participation of many of my students," Salvatore Accardo said. "It is therefore that I offer, with extraordinary joy, my affectionate best wishes to all those who participate in this 57^th edition of the Award: always win the best!”

The musical program of the competition includes a commission by composer Silvia Colasanti. The finals, which will take place in two stages, will include the performance of one of Mozart’s Concertos without a conductor, with the aim to evaluate more thoroughly the musical horizon of the competitors.

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 Artists Inmo Yang and Kevin Zhu.

The pre-selections will be held between the months of March and May 2023 and will select a maximum of 30 young violinists. During the pre-selection that will be held in Guangzhou, Genoa, and at the Italian Cultural Institutes of New York, Prague, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires, a Commission chaired by the Artistic Director Nazzareno Carusi will evaluate the candidates.

The live, in-person rounds will be held from October 16-27 in the Palazzo Tursi and Teatro Carlo Felice. All rounds will be streamed live on The Violin Channel.

To apply, click here. For a full schedule, visit www.premiopaganini.it.