There was a snow warning across the region, but the Queenstown Memorial Centre was sizzling as the Competition kicked off on Friday 31 May. Round 1 | Day 1 saw the first eight competitors perform solo Bach works, Paganini Caprices, charming salon pieces and the hotly awaited and always enlightening Ad Libitum section in which they choose - and curate - their own work. Ad Libitum Ad Libitum means “according to pleasure” and as such the competitor chooses…
It is bitter sweet for us to announce that we've lost two competitors to the Queen Elisabeth Competition this year. We are delighted for Shannon Lee and Ji Won Song who will battle it out this week in Brussels, and wish them all the best. On the flip side, it means we will now welcome to New Zealand Choi Tung Yeung (at right) from Hong Kong, and Emmalena Huning from Australia. We can only imagine how they are feeling having been…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Sat 8 June 2013 THE GRAND FINALE... Excitement is in the air as we head towards the Grand Final tonight and find out who will be the winner of the 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition. It’s hard to believe that just one week ago we were listening to our 18 semi-finalists for the very first time in Queenstown – for us, and the violinists, it seems a lifetime ago.…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Thu 6 June 2013 AND THEN THERE WERE THREE Our three finalists have been named as the Competition enters its final stages. Following Round III performances by Wonyoung Jung, Sarah Christian and Boson Mo, the judges decided (again by secret ballot) on the final three – Canadians Nikki Chooi and Boson Mo, and German Sarah Christian. Sir Michael Hill with the three finalists and judges: Helene Pohl, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, James…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Wed 5 Jun 2013 A Thrilling Start to Round III What a thrilling start to Round III at Auckland Town Hall! This is the chamber music round where each of the top six semi-finalists performs a full piano trio with pianist Michael Houstoun and cellist Ashley Brown. In Rounds I and II the judges saw and heard how the competitors performed solo and with piano accompaniment – in Round III…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Tue 4 June 2013 Heading to Auckland All our semi-finalists headed to Auckland today as we enter the next phase of the Competition. We grabbed our top six semi-finalists for a quick snap before they dashed to board their flight. Tomorrow three of our six top semi-finalists rehearse with Ashley Brown (cello) and Michael Houstoun (piano) before the first of the Round III performances at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Mon 3 June 2013 Announcing the Top Six Finalists We’ve announced the top six semi-finalists to progress to Round III. Eighteen violinists from around the world have performed in the gruelling initial rounds of competition in Queenstown over the past three days. The six semi-finalists who go through to the next round in Auckland are (in no particular order): Nikki Chooi (Canada), Sarah Christian (Germany), Ioana Cristina Goicea (Romania), Wonyoung…
2013 Competition > Keeping Up With The Play > Mon 3 June 2013 Have You Picked Your Top Six? The time has come – after three intense days of wonderful music, our international jury has adjourned to make the decision on the top six semifinalists to advance to Round III. The voting is done in secret and the judges do not confer at all. In the foyer of the Queenstown Memorial Centre we can hear the audience members discussing…
