Noticias
María Dueñas ganadora de la Menuhin Competition 2021
Redacción
La violinista española María Dueñas ha obtenido el primer premio en la presente edición de la Menuhin Competition 2021. El concurso, que tiene dos categorías, junior y senior, ha tenido lugar entre el 14 y el 23 de mayo en Richmond (Virginia, EEUU), aunque se desarrolló virtualmente. Como ganadora, Dueñas recibirá un premio monetario de $20.000 y un préstamo durante dos años de un violín Stradivarius de la época dorada proveniente de la colección privada de Jonathan Moulds CBE, a través de la Beare’s International Violin Society, y un arco realizado por Christophe Landon. Además, y a discreción del jurado, se le ofrecerán diversos cursos y conciertos.
En la categoría senior (de 15 a 22 años) el primer premio ha sido para la española María Dueñas, el segundo premio fue para el alemán Simon Zhu (Tübingen, 2001), el tercer premio para la norteamericana Hana Chang (Lexington, Massachusetts, 2003) y el cuarto premio para la estadounidense Karisa Chiu (Palatine, Illinois, 2000)
Además -también en la categoría senior- Karisa Chiu y Emily Shehi ha compartido el Premio del Compositor, por su interpretación de Menuhin Caprice del compositor Mark O’Connor; Simon Zhu y Hana Chang han compartido el Premio Mozart por su interpretación de un Concierto para violín de Mozart en las semifinales; Simon Zhu ha obtenido el Premio EMCY a una Interpretación Excepcional; y María Dueñas, el Premio de la Audiencia.
En la sección junior (menores de 16 años) el primer premio ha sido para Keila Wakao (EEUU / Japón, 15 años), el segundo premio para Edward Walton (Australia / UK, 15 años), el tercer premio para Hannah Wan Ching Tam (China, 15 años), el cuarto premio para Kento Hong (EEUU / Japón, 14 años), y el quinto premio para Boha Moon (Corea, 14 años). Además Keila Wakao obtuvo el Premio del Compositor Junio por su interpretación de Bound Away del compositor Mason Bates, y Hannah Tam el Premio de la Audiencia Junior.
Biografías de los ganadores senior (en inglés)
María Dueñas, 18, was born in Granada, Spain. She currently lives in Vienna, Austria, where she studies with Boris Kuschnir at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and MUK. Music has always been a part of her life, as she grew up attending classical concerts and listening to recordings from violinists like Yehudi Menuhin, Jascha Heifetz and David Oistrakh. At 15, she made her debut at the Vienna Musikverein, and since then has performed at venues including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Simon Zhu, 20, began playing the violin at six years old. He studies with Professor Tomasz Tomaszewski at the Julius-Stern-Institute of the University of Arts in Berlin and privately with Ning Feng. A scholarship holder of the German Music Foundation, he has been awarded 1st Prize awards at competitions including the Zhuhai Mozart Competition, Schöntal Competition and the Valsesia Musica Competition. He particularly enjoys playing Beethoven, saying he finds a unique energy in his work.
Hana Chang, 18, is from Lexington, Massachusetts and began playing the violin at four years old. After giving her solo debut at seven years old, she has continued to perform across the United States. She currently studies at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Prague Radio Symphony, Czech Virtuosi, Utah Symphony and Hunan Symphony. She loves to play Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, or anything by Schubert.
Karisa Chiu, 21, grew up in Illinois and studies with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music. She grew up in a musical family, having received her very first violin lessons at age three from her father, Cornelius Chiu. Karisa remembers performing together with her family from a young age. She has won top prizes at competitions including the Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition, the Stulberg International String Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the Cooper International Competition.
Biografías de los ganadores junior (en inglés)
Keila Wakao, 15, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She comes from a musical family – her mother plays the piano, and her father is an oboist. She began playing the violin at age three and, at just nine years old, she gave her solo debut with the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has performed as a soloist in the United States, Germany and Japan. In 2017, Keila was invited to speak and perform at TEDx BeaconStreet. She currently studies with Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her two main musical inspirations are Augustin Hadelich and her father, Keisuke Wakao.
Edward Walton, 15, is from Melbourne, Australia. He started playing the violin at three years old and cites David Oistrakh as a musical inspiration. He has recently been enjoying Oistrakh’s interpretation of Karol Szymanowski’s Mythes. He studies with Dr. Robin Wilson, Head of Violin at the Australian National Academy of Music, and has won top awards at numerous competitions, including the Il Piccolo Violin Magico Competition and the US Medallion International Concerto Competition.
Hannah Wan Ching Tam, 15, is from Hong Kong, China. At 12 years old, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she currently studies with Ida Kavafian. Hannah has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Virtuosi Italiani Orchestra. She loves performing and the diversity of repertoire for violin, which allows her to explore the full range of emotion and experience.
Kento Hong, 14, was born in New York. He made his orchestral debut when he was just eight years old. At ten, he entered the Julliard Pre-College programme, where he currently studies with Dr. Anne Setzer. When Kento learns a new piece of repertoire, he begins by learning about the composer and era during which it was composed. He is inspired by violinists like Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh and Maxim Vengerov.
Boha Moon, 14, was born in South Korea and recently moved to the Czech Republic, where she studies with the concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Josef Špaček. She previously studied at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts with Professor Nam-Yun Kim. She is particularly inspired by Maxim Vengerov, and listened to his recordings while preparing for the Competition. When not playing the violin, she also plays piano.
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